Basketball Preview: Elite Eagles vs. Fortune Early College Panthers
Elite is on a nine-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while the Panthers are on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Elite Eagles will take on the Fortune Early College Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Elite has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 463 points over their last seven matchups.
Even though Westlake Charter scored an imposing 58 points on Thursday, Elite still came out on top. Elite took their contest against the Explorers 65-58. Given Elite's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 463rd, while the Explorers are ranked 1060th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Elite's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Lemack Bellot, who scored 15 points. Jamaal Mills was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Meanwhile, Fortune Early College put the finishing touches on their eighth blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They really took it to Leroy Greene Academy for the full four quarters, racking up a 70-43 win at home.
Fortune Early College can attribute much of their success to Nahje Collins, who scored 14 points, and Omarion Davis, who scored 13 points. Collins is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Another player making a difference was Mekhi Tanner, who scored nine points.
Elite has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season. As for Fortune Early College, their win bumped their record up to 14-12.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Elite hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 65.8 points per game. However, it's not like Fortune Early College struggles in that department as they've been averaging 63.2 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Elite came up short against the Panthers when the teams last played back in January, falling 76-69. Will Elite have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
