Basketball Game Preview: Immanuel Eagles vs. Kerman Lions

The Immanuel Eagles will take on the Kerman Lions at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Immanuel comes in on nine and Kerman on three.

Immanuel will bounce into Friday's game after beating Selma, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Immanuel blew past Selma, posting a 70-16 victory. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 17 matches by 22 points or more this season.

Immanuel's win on Wednesday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kiera Thomas, who went 8 for 18 on her way to 21 points and four steals. Thomas has been hot for a while, having posted three or more steals the last nine times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Schletewitz, who posted seven points in addition to 13 rebounds and five steals.

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Kerman on Wednesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Reedley out of the water with a 42-14 final score. Given the Lions' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 305th, while the Pirates are ranked 669th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Immanuel pushed their record up to 21-5 with the win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.8 points per game. As for Kerman, their victory bumped their record up to 18-7.

Everything went Immanuel's way against Kerman in their previous matchup back in January, as Immanuel made off with a 51-29 win. Does Immanuel have another victory up their sleeve, or will Kerman turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.