The Sacramento Dragons entered their tilt with the Natomas Nighthawks with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. Sacramento rang in the new year with a 75-63 win over Natomas on Saturday. Given Sacramento's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 92nd, while Natomas is ranked 305th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Sacramento to victory, but perhaps none more so than Shobal Barksdale, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 17 rebounds. Barksdale has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last seven times he's played. Kendahl Hearne was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with nine rebounds and six assists.
Despite the loss, Natomas still got an impressive performance from Manno Jenkins, who went 8 for 20 from beyond the arc en route to 36 points and 3 assists. The matchup was Jenkins' third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Aeron Wallace, who scored 18 points.
Sacramento's victory was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-4. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.8 points per game. As for Natomas, their loss dropped their record down to 10-6.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Sacramento and Capital Christian will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 9th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Capital Christian is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 68.6 points per game. As for Natomas, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Johnson at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
