The Venture Academy Mustangs will challenge the Natomas Nighthawks at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Venture Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Marysville 82-54. The victory was familiar territory for the Mustangs, who have now won ten matchups in a row.
Meanwhile, Natomas waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They took their game with ease, bagging a 91-63 win over the Warriors. Given the Nighthawks' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 171st, while the Warriors are ranked 490th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Natomas' win came from a few key players Venture Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Alfred Wilkins, who almost dropped a double-double with 29 points and nine assists. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Manno Jenkins, who dropped a double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds.
Natomas smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 21 consecutive matches.
Natomas' victory bumped their record up to 23-7. As for Venture Academy, their win bumped their record up to 22-7.
Venture Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Natomas when the teams last played back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 78-74 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Natomas' Aeron Wallace, who went 7-for-13 from beyond the arc on his way to 23 points and six assists. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Venture Academy still be able to contain Wallace? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
