Two dominant guards in Christopher Murray and Manny Torres are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. Having just played yesterday, the Sunlake Seahawks will get right back to it and host the Steinbrenner Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on January 19th. Steinbrenner took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Sunlake, who comes in off a win.
Sunlake put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They put the hurt on Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate with a sharp 53-28 win. With Sunlake ahead 27-7 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Murray was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last eight games he's played. Another player making a difference was Manntavius Goodman, who scored six points along with six steals and five assists.
Meanwhile, Steinbrenner's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their tenth straight loss. Their rough 68-46 loss to Robinson might stick with them for a while. Steinbrenner has struggled against Robinson recently, as their game on Wednesday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
The losing side was boosted by Torres, who scored 22 points along with eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that he pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Will Miller, who scored six points along with six rebounds.
Steinbrenner struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They are winless (0-3) when they just don't pass the ball.
Sunlake has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. As for Steinbrenner, their defeat was their sixth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 1-17.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: Sunlake have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 45.1% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Steinbrenner, though, as they've only drained 32.3% of their threes per game this season. Given Sunlake's sizeable advantage in that area, Steinbrenner will need to find a way to close that gap.
Sunlake came up short against Steinbrenner in their previous matchup back in December of 2021, falling 64-58. Can Sunlake avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
