The Morse Tigers are on the road again on Monday and play against the Mount Miguel Matadors at 8:00 p.m. on December 18th. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Tuesday, Morse took a serious blow against Monte Vista, falling 84-56. While losing is never fun, Morse can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1103rd, while Monte Vista is ranked 477th).
Despite their loss, 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 matchup 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 has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 20 points or more this season. They were the clear victor by a 81-61 margin over Mar Vista.
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.
Morse's loss was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 2-6. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.3 points per game. As for Mount Miguel, their win bumped their record up to 5-2.
Keep an eye on the arc in Monday's matchup: Morse have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.8 threes per game. It's a different story for Mount Miguel, though, as they've been averaging only 1.9 threes per game. Given Morse's sizeable advantage in that area, Mount Miguel will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything went Morse's way against Mount Miguel in their previous meeting back in January as Morse made off with a 56-35 victory. Does Morse have another victory up their sleeve, or will Mount Miguel turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
