The Marquette Catholic Blazers will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the South Bend Adams Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on January 19th. Hopefully Marquette Catholic focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 last Thursday.
Last Thursday, Marquette Catholic was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 44-39 to Culver Academies. Marquette Catholic has not had much luck with Culver Academies recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Despite their loss, Marquette Catholic saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Colson Dobre, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and two blocks, was perhaps the best of all. Dobre is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Aleks Pecoski, who scored ten points along with two steals.
South Bend Adams can finally bid farewell to their six-game losing streak thanks to their game on Tuesday. They managed a 53-48 win over South Bend Washington. Winning is a bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 18 to 6 on the offensive boards, as South Bend Adams did.
South Bend Adams found their leader in underclassman Jarvis Tolbert, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Tolbert has scored at least a third of South Bend Adams' points. Amari Wesson was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with nine rebounds.
Marquette Catholic now has a losing record at 5-6. As for South Bend Adams, their win bumped their record up to 5-7.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Marquette Catholic have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 20.2 rebounds per game. It's a different story for South Bend Adams, though, as they've been averaging only 28.4 rebounds per game. Given Marquette Catholic's sizeable advantage in that area, South Bend Adams will need to find a way to close that gap.
Marquette Catholic strolled past South Bend Adams in their previous meeting back in January of 2023 by a score of 70-53. The rematch might be a little tougher for Marquette Catholic since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
