Basketball Game Preview: Marquez Gladiators vs. Maywood Academy Nighthawks

Marquez has gone 8-2 against Maywood Academy recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Marquez Gladiators will head out on the road to face off against the Maywood Academy Nighthawks at 4:00 p.m. Marquez is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.4 points per game this season.

Marquez took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They breezed by Maywood CES to the tune of 91-29. Given the Gladiators' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 643rd, while the Wolfpack are ranked 1426th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ricardo Bermejo

Assists (Career)

01/22/25 vs Maywood CES	4
12/06/24 vs Artesia	2
01/15/25 vs Buena Park	1
12/16/24 @ Blair	1

Marquez relied on the efforts of Ricardo Bermejo, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 19 rebounds, and Julian Nunez, who went 7 of 13 from beyond the arc en route to 27 points. The dominant performance also gave Bermejo a new career-high in assists (four). Elyjah Staples was another key player, dropping a double-double on 11 points and 11 boards.

Marquez was working as a unit and finished the game with 26 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Maywood Academy entered their game against Sotomayor on Wednesday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Maywood Academy was dealt an 85-43 defeat at the hands of Sotomayor. The Nighthawks just can't catch a break and have now endured three losses in a row.

Marquez is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-9-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.5 points per game. As for Maywood Academy, their defeat ended a nine-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-11.

Everything came up roses for Marquez against Maywood Academy in their previous meeting on January 6th, as the squad secured a 73-32 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Marquez since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.