Basketball Game Preview: Mt. Carmel Sundevils vs. University City Centurions

Mt. Carmel hasn't had much luck against University City recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Mt. Carmel Sundevils will head out to face off against the University City Centurions at 7:00 p.m. Mt. Carmel has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.

Mt. Carmel is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Saturday as they easily beat Granite Hills 77-46. With that win, the Sundevils brought their scoring average up to 52 points per game.

Makai Orje continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 9 for 16 on his way to 22 points in addition to five assists and five boards. That's the most boards he has posted since back in January. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Hourani, who posted nine points along with seven assists and five boards.

Mt. Carmel smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, University City played a tough matchup on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against Santa Fe Christian, falling 69-44. While losing is never fun, the Centurions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 229th, while the Eagles are ranked 50th).

Mt. Carmel moved to 2-8 with that victory, which also ended their six-game losing streak. As for University City, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season.

Mt. Carmel came up short against University City in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, falling 76-70. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of University City's Dylan Griffin, who had 29 points. Now that Mt. Carmel knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.