Two dominant guards in Talhah Ali and Joey Vigerzi are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Vertus Warriors will be playing in front of their home fans against the Gates Chili Spartans at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in Vertus' favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last nine games.
Vertus pushed their score all the way to 56 last Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They lost to Monroe at home by a decisive 74-56 margin. While losing is never fun, Vertus can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 541st, while the Red Jackets are ranked 144th).
Despite their loss, Vertus saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Reginald Pough, who scored eight points along with 12 rebounds and two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Pough is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Na'shon Wade, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Gates Chili was the victim of a tough 70-46 defeat at the hands of the Eagles on Friday. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Gates Chili in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now lost six in a row.
Despite the defeat, Gates Chili saw an underclassman step up: Vigerzi scored 21 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Vigerzi is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 20 or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaden Robinson, who scored four points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Vertus has not been sharp recently as the team's lost seven of their last eight contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-11 record this season. As for Gates Chili, their loss was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 4-12.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Vertus have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 21.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Gates Chili struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Vertus couldn't quite finish off the Spartans when the teams last played back in January and fell 61-59. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Vigerzi, who scored 25 points along with two steals. Now that Vertus knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
