Basketball Game Preview: Eastside Catholic Crusaders vs. Garfield Bulldogs

Eastside Catholic and Garfield are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2022, but not for long. The Eastside Catholic Crusaders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Garfield Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Eastside Catholic is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Rainier Beach, who was ranked first at the time (Eastside Catholic was ranked 24th). Eastside Catholic took a blow against Rainier Beach on Monday, falling 99-72. The Crusaders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Garfield, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They claimed a resounding 95-62 victory over Franklin. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 30 points or more this season.

Garfield pushed their record up to 10-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 31.2 points. As for Eastside Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-6.

Eastside Catholic beat Garfield 61-52 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Will Eastside Catholic repeat their success, or does Garfield have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.