The Mount Miguel Matadors will take on the Morse Tigers in a holiday battle at 8:00 p.m. on Monday at. Mount Miguel will be strutting in after a victory while Morse will be coming in after a defeat.
Mount Miguel has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 20 points or more this season. They blew past Mar Vista 81-61. Given Mount Miguel's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 402nd, while Mar Vista is ranked 854th), the result on Wednesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mekhi Sydney was his usual excellent self, scoring 31 points. Those 31 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Jasen Hughes, who scored 13 points.
Meanwhile, Morse pushed their score all the way to 56 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They were beaten by Monte Vista 84-56. Morse has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their defeat, Morse saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jonathan Smith , who scored 19 points along with nine rebounds and five steals, was perhaps the best of all. The contest was Smith 's third in a row with at least ten points. Maleek Robinson was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with nine rebounds.
Mount Miguel's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 79.8 points per game. As for Morse, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-6 record this season.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Mount Miguel hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 67.9 points per game. It's a different story for Morse, though, as they've been averaging only 49.8 points per game. The only thing between Mount Miguel and another offensive beatdown is Morse. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Mount Miguel suffered a grim 56-35 defeat to Morse in their previous matchup back in January. Can Mount Miguel avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
