After six games on the road, Genesee is heading back home. They will take on the Bendle Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Genesee focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 21 on Tuesday.
Last Tuesday, Genesee was beaten by Beecher 87-47. While losing is never fun, Genesee can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 709th, while Beecher is ranked 160th).
Despite the defeat, Genesee got a solid performance out of Conner Rouse, who scored 24 points along with five rebounds. Rouse continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Tristin Aguilar was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Bendle stacked a fourth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 71-35 win over Atherton. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory Bendle has posted yet this season.
Bendle's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Elijah Boyd, who scored 15 points along with three steals. Another player making a difference was Malis Firman, who scored seven points along with nine assists and four steals.
Genesee's loss dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Bendle, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 8-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: Genesee have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.3 threes per game. It's a different story for Bendle, though, as they've been averaging only 6.8 threes per game. Given Genesee's sizeable advantage in that area, Bendle will need to find a way to close that gap.
Genesee took a serious blow against Bendle in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, falling 73-40. Thankfully for Genesee, Emillio Riley (who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
