The Brighton Bengals will venture away from home to take on the Juan Diego Catholic Soaring Eagle at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Brighton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They really took it to Hunter for the full four quarters, racking up a 62-29 win. That looming 62-29 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Bengals yet this season.
Brighton got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Josh Mawhinney out in front who almost dropped a double-double with 15 points and nine boards. What's more, Mawhinney also posted four steals, the most he's had since back in December of 2023. Jaxon Soto was another key player, putting up 18 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Juan Diego Catholic waltzed into their game on Thursday with 11 straight wins... but they left with 12. They walked away with a 63-54 win over the Warriors. Given the Soaring Eagle's advantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Warriors are ranked 101st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Brighton better keep an eye on Luke Meyer. He was instrumental in Juan Diego Catholic's win, dropping a double-double with 23 points and 18 boards. Meyer is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last 13 games he's played. Another player making a difference was Deng Deng, who made all 6 shots he took for 12 points.
Juan Diego Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in nine consecutive contests.
Juan Diego Catholic's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-5. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.0 points over those games. As for Brighton, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 14-10.
Brighton couldn't quite finish off Juan Diego Catholic when the teams last played back in December of 2024 and fell 57-55. Can Brighton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
