Two dominant guards in Luis Hernandez and Cole Barton are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. Having just played yesterday, the Green River Pirates will head out on the road to face off against the Pinnacle Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on February 9th. One thing working in Green River's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matches.
On Thursday, Green River beat Caprock Academy 55-45. Given Green River's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 112th in Utah, while Caprock Academy is ranked 298th in Colorado), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Green River's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Hernandez, who scored 21 points. Hernandez is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last four games he's played. Rolando Anguiano was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought match, but Pinnacle had to settle for a 40-37 loss against Monticello on Tuesday. Pinnacle has struggled against Monticello recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
The losing side was boosted by Barton, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds. Barton is crushing the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Howell, who scored five points along with five rebounds.
Green River is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. As for Pinnacle, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-9.
Fans should be in for an exciting game on Friday as the two teams are among the highest scoring teams in the league right now. Green River hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 61.6 points per game. However, it's not like Pinnacle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 56.8 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Green River strolled past Pinnacle in their previous matchup back in January by a score of 65-47. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Barton, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Green River still be able to contain Barton? There's only one way to find out.
