Eaglecrest has gone 3-0 against Palmer recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. After both having extra time off, both will shake off the cobwebs and square off against one another at 6:00 p.m. One thing working in Eaglecrest's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last seven contests.
Eaglecrest is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Bingham, who was ranked third in their home state at the time (Eaglecrest was ranked third). Eaglecrest fell 73-66 to Bingham last Saturday. The Raptors' defeat signaled the end of their seven-game winning streak.
| 12/21/24 vs Bingham | 16 |
| 12/20/24 vs Notre Dame Prep | 20 |
| 12/19/24 vs Oakland | 16 |
Despite the loss, Eaglecrest saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kris Coleman went 6 for 12 on his way to 16 points. Coleman's afternoon made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Garrett Barger, who posted 14 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Palmer beat Vista Ridge 64-60 two weeks ago. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Terrors.
Palmer had a senior duo take command as Ayden Yunker went 6 of 9 on his way to 17 points and eight rebounds and J'Twane Mike went 5 of 10 on his way to 15 points and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Yunker has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Kohen Collins, who had six points and five steals.
Palmer smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.
Palmer's victory bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Eaglecrest, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Eaglecrest hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 62.2 points per game. However, it's not like Palmer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 63.2 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Eaglecrest beat Palmer 65-54 in their previous meeting back in December of 2015. Will Eaglecrest repeat their success, or does Palmer have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
