Preview: Mater Dei Monarchs vs. Hoover Cardinals
The Mater Dei Monarchs are on the road again on Wednesday and play against the Hoover Cardinals at 2:00 p.m. on December 27th. Mater Dei has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 948 points over their last 11 contests.
Mater Dei and Riviera Prep (ranked 37 and 64 in the MaxPreps national rankings respectively) squared off in a high-profile contest. Mater Dei enjoyed a cozy 84-68 victory over Riviera Prep on Thursday. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Owen Verna was his usual excellent self, scoring 34 points along with six rebounds. The game was his 11th in a row with at least ten points. Luke Barnett was another key contributor, scoring 18 points.
Meanwhile, Hoover entered their tilt with Mount Miguel with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. Hoover simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Mount Miguel 76-46 on the road. The result was nothing new for Hoover, who have now won six games by 26 points or more so far this season.
Hoover got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Amanuel Tesfahunegn out in front who scored 22 points along with five assists and four steals. The contest was Tesfahunegn's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Hassan Anglo, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds.
Mater Dei's victory bumped their record up to 10-1. As for Hoover, they have been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Wednesday's match: Mater Dei have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 9.3 threes per game. However, it's not like Hoover struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 8.7 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
