The Downey Knights lost against the Central Catholic Raiders back in December of 2022, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. Downey took a 63-46 bruising from the Raiders. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Downey in their matchups with the Raiders: they've now lost five in a row.
Downey lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Reuben Lewis, who scored six points along with nine rebounds and eight assists. Lewis is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Daley Holmes, who scored 12 points.
Central Catholic's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Mana Itete led the charge by scoring 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Itete has scored all season. Wesley Payne was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Downey has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-16 record this season. As for Central Catholic, the victory (which was their 11th in a row) raised their record to 19-5.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Downey will take on the Pride at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Pitman is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road. As for Central Catholic, they and the Bulldogs will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 29th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Turlock will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 475th, while the Raiders are ranked 195th).
