University Prep is 1-8 against Foothill since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The University Prep Panthers are on the road again and play against the Foothill Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on December 21st. University Prep 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 581st, while Foothill is ranked 287th).
Last Saturday, it was a hard-fought game, but University Prep had to settle for a 50-48 defeat against Arcata. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for University Prep in their matchups with Arcata: they've now lost three in a row.
The losing side was boosted by Scott Steffan, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. Devin Huegel was another key contributor, scoring seven points.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Foothill had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They really took it to the Trojans for the full four quarters, racking up a 50-19 win on the road. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 27-4.
Foothill can attribute much of their success to Bryce French, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds. Those 20 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Asa Arnold, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds.
University Prep now has a losing record at 5-6. As for Foothill, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season.
Thursday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: University Prep have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 42.6% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Foothill struggles in that department as they've nailed 46% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
University Prep won a game that couldn't have been any closer in their previous matchup on December 1st, slipping by Foothill 55-54. Does University Prep have another victory up their sleeve, or will Foothill turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
