Make it 13 blowout wins for the Union Mine Diamondbacks this season. They put the hurt on Liberty Ranch with a sharp 82-57 victory on Tuesday. Winning may never get old, but Union Mine sure is getting used to it with their sixth in a row.
Union Mine was led to victory by Isaac Zmerzlikar and Nate Sweet. Zmerzlikar dropped a double-double on 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Sweet scored 28 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Sweet is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Ethan Gines, who scored seven points along with 13 assists and three steals.
Liberty Ranch's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Yousef Diab, who scored 20 points along with eight rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Diab has scored all season. Elliott Hawker was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds.
Liberty Ranch struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Union Mine pushed their record up to 22-2 with that win, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 79.6 points per game. As for Liberty Ranch, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 8-16.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Union Mine's homestand continues as they prepare to take on Rosemont at 7:00 p.m. on January 26th. Rosemont will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 852nd, while Union Mine is ranked 186th). As for Liberty Ranch, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Bradshaw Christian at 7:00 p.m. Hopefully Bradshaw Christian focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Tuesday.
