Basketball Game Preview: Orcutt Academy Spartans vs. St. Joseph Knights

The Orcutt Academy Spartans are taking a road trip to challenge the St. Joseph Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Orcutt Academy sitting on four straight victories and St. Joseph on eight.

Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Orcutt Academy beat Morro Bay 55-50. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 80th, while the Pirates are ranked 378th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Elizabeth Johnson was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 29 points and 18 boards. She has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more rebounds the last 28 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Iraya Bell-Jackson, who posted 12 points and six boards.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led St. Joseph over Righetti in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that St. Joseph blew Righetti out of the water with a 74-33 final score. The Knights have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 contests by 25 points or more this season.

St. Joseph has also been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.5 points per game. As for Orcutt Academy, their record now sits at 16-3.

Orcutt Academy might still be hurting after the 80-54 loss they got from St. Joseph in their previous meeting on January 10th. Can Orcutt Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.