The Burlingame Panthers were the 57-48 winner over the Willow Glen Rams when they last played one another back in December of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Burlingame opened the new year with a less-than-successful 49-37 defeat to Willow Glen. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Burlingame came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 374th, while Willow Glen is ranked 761st).
Burlingame lost on Thursday despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Marcus Tapia, who scored 12 points along with three steals. Those three steals set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Luke Levitt, who scored eight points.
Burlingame has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5 record this season. As for Willow Glen, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-8.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Burlingame's road trip will continue as they head out to face Mills at 6:00 p.m. on January 6th. Mills is coming into the game on a six-game losing streak. As for Willow Glen, they will head out on the road to face off against Pioneer at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The timing is sure in Pioneer's favor as the squad sits on three straight wins at home while Willow Glen has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road.
