Mt. Diablo is 1-9 against Alhambra since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Mt. Diablo Red Devils will be home for the holidays to greet the Alhambra Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Mt. Diablo is coming into the match on a six-game losing streak.
Last Tuesday, Mt. Diablo took a serious blow against Ygnacio Valley, falling 85-46. Mt. Diablo was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 51-22.
Mt. Diablo's defeat came about despite a quality game from Willy Jones, who scored 20 points along with eight blocks and five rebounds. The match was Jones' third in a row with at least ten points. Malik Benson was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Meanwhile, everything went Alhambra's way against Sonoma Valley on Saturday as Alhambra made off with a 64-43 win. The victory was just what Alhambra needed coming off of a 74-41 defeat in their prior contest.
Samuel Gillaspy and Cooper Largent were among the main playmakers for Alhambra as the former scored 21 points and the latter scored 21 points along with three steals. That's the first time this season that Largent grabbed two or more steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Geo Alber, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds.
Mt. Diablo's defeat dropped their record down to 1-10. As for Alhambra, the win got them back to even at 5-5.
Thursday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Mt. Diablo have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 20.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Alhambra struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 29.7 rebounds per game. Given Mt. Diablo's sizeable advantage in that area, Alhambra will need to find a way to close that gap.
Mt. Diablo lost to Alhambra at home by a decisive 82-68 margin in their previous matchup back in February. Thankfully for Mt. Diablo, Austin Dewes (who dropped a double-double on 26 points and 17 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
