Basketball Game Preview: Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets vs. Banning Broncos

The Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets are taking a road trip to square off against the Banning Broncos at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Palo Verde Valley is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.2 points per game this season.

Palo Verde Valley easily dispatched Xavier Prep on Friday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. Palo Verde Valley fell just short of Stevenson by a score of 57-54 on Saturday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Yellow Jackets have suffered since January 23rd.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Zaraivion Crowe, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 boards. He has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more blocks the last nine times he's played. Yasias Green was another key player, going 5 for 12 on his way to 14 points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Palo Verde Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Banning came up short against Redlands on Monday and fell 63-50. The Broncos have struggled against the Terriers recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Banning's loss dropped their record down to 8-5. As for Palo Verde Valley, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season.

Palo Verde Valley couldn't quite finish off Banning when the teams last played back in December of 2015 and fell 71-69. Thankfully for Palo Verde Valley, Emanuelle Bradbury (who posted 41 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.