Two dominant guards in Daniel Ortiz and Rich Knott are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Palo Verde Titans will square off against the Tanque Verde Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Palo Verde has four straight wins, Tanque Verde has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
On Friday, Palo Verde blew past Catalina, posting an 80-29 victory. The Titans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 matchups by 23 points or more this season.
Palo Verde's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ortiz, who went 7 for 11 en route to 17 points along with six boards and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Rashad Ortiz, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 21 points.
Palo Verde smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in nine consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Tanque Verde challenged Thatcher on Friday. Tanque Verde fell just short of Thatcher by a score of 76-74. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Hawks have suffered since December 20, 2024.
Palo Verde will need focus on slowing down Philip Knott, one of several Tanque Verde players who made an impact when they last played. He went 9 for 16 en route to 24 points. Knott is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Enzo Castillo, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 15 points and five rebounds.
Palo Verde has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. As for Tanque Verde, their loss dropped their record down to 14-10.
Palo Verde beat Tanque Verde 67-57 in their previous matchup back in November of 2024. Will Palo Verde repeat their success, or does Tanque Verde have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
