Preview: Stone Ridge Christian Knights vs. Morro Bay Pirates
The Stone Ridge Christian Knights are on the road again on Friday and play against the Morro Bay Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on December 15th. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Stone Ridge Christian scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They came out on top against Denair by a score of 80-69. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Stone Ridge Christian's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Daijon O?neil, who scored 28 points along with seven rebounds and seven steals, and Kassius Salazar, who scored 27 points along with seven rebounds and six steals. That makes it five consecutive games in which O?neil has scored at least 25% of Stone Ridge Christian's points. Another player making a difference was Owen Nelson, who scored 11 points along with three steals.
Even though Morro Bay has not done well against Lompoc recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Morro Bay sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 49-47 win over Lompoc. The victory was just what Morro Bay needed coming off of a 73-24 loss in their prior contest.
Morro Bay had a senior duo take command as Sergio Mendoza scored 16 points along with three steals and Justin Campbell scored 19 points along with five rebounds. That's the first time this season that Mendoza scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jake Falat, who scored eight points along with five rebounds.
Stone Ridge Christian pushed their record up to 7-3 with that victory, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.8 points per game. As for Morro Bay, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Stone Ridge Christian have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 38.3 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Morro Bay, though, as they've been averaging only 19.4 rebounds per game. Given Stone Ridge Christian's sizeable advantage in that area, Morro Bay will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
