After two games on the road, Esparto is heading back home. They will take on the Golden Sierra Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. That matchup will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Antonio Seastrunk Jr. and Patrick Bingham.
Last Friday, Esparto suffered a rough 61-38 loss at the hands of the Falcons.
Esparto's defeat came about despite a quality game from Seastrunk Jr., who scored 23 points along with three steals. Seastrunk Jr. has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last seven times he's played. Andre Oliver was another key contributor, scoring six points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Golden Sierra had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 64-33 win over San Juan on the road.
It was another big night for Bingham, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 21 rebounds. Bingham is crushing the rebound category: he's posted at least ten every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Bradley Dodson, who scored nine points along with six rebounds.
Esparto's defeat dropped their record down to 2-20. As for Golden Sierra, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-14 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Esparto have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 21.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Golden Sierra struggles in that department as they've been averaging 44.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Esparto took a serious blow against the Grizzlies when the teams last played back in January, falling 72-13. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bingham, who dropped a triple-double on 35 points, 23 rebounds, and ten assists. Now that Esparto knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
