Basketball Game Preview: Santiago Cavaliers vs. Savanna Rebels

The Santiago Cavaliers will face off against the Savanna Rebels at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Last Tuesday, Santiago came up short against Los Amigos and fell 60-49. The Cavaliers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Savanna had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Eagles with a sharp 71-51 win. The Rebels have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 20 points or more this season.

Savanna had a senior duo take command as Branden Ellis went 9 for 14 on his way to 27 points and Mathys Rudel dropped a double-double on 15 points and 17 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Ellis has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Paul Henderson, who posted nine points and five rebounds.

Savanna smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 15 offensive rebounds per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 8.

Savanna is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.6 points per game. As for Santiago, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-8.

Santiago beat Savanna 75-67 in their previous meeting back in December of 2022. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Savanna's Dontey Henderson, who put up 25 points. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Santiago to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.