The Veterans Memorial Patriots waltzed into their game on Friday with 24 straight wins but they left with 25. They secured a 44-40 W over Wagner. Given Veterans Memorial's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 14th, while the Thunderbirds are ranked 65th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Demarion Dennis continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 22 points. He is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Gervai Maeweathers, who scored 11 points.
Wagner's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Daimen Ramirez, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds. Lance Johnson was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six rebounds.
Veterans Memorial pushed their record up to 32-1 with that win, which was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.3 points per game. As for Wagner, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-10.
Veterans Memorial will head out on the road to square off against the Antlers at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Tivy is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak. As for Wagner, they will be playing at home against the Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Canyon has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 0-3 during that stretch of close contests.
