Basketball Game Preview: Empire Ravens vs. Sabino Sabercats

Two dominant guards in Donovan Davidson and Caden Watkins are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Empire Ravens will head out to face off against the Sabino Sabercats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Empire is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest defeat since December 16, 2023 on Tuesday. They fell just short of Tanque Verde by a score of 71-69. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (55), the Ravens still had to take the loss.

Empire's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Khari Gurley, who posted 16 points in addition to eight boards and seven assists, and Davidson, who had 19 points along with six assists and six boards. That's the most assists Davidson has posted since back in November of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Issac Buchanan, who posted 16 points.

Even though they lost, Empire smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in four consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Sabino earned a 70-60 victory over Pusch Ridge Christian Academy on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Sabercats.

Sabino is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. As for Empire, their defeat was their fifth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 9-12.

Empire won a contest that couldn't have been any closer when the teams last played back in January of 2024, slipping by Sabino 76-75. The rematch might be a little tougher for Empire since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.