The Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders are on the road again on Friday and plays the San Ysidro Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Mater Dei Catholic will be strutting in after a win while the Cougars will be coming in after a loss.
Even though Helix scored an imposing 57 points on Saturday, Mater Dei Catholic still came out on top. Mater Dei Catholic strolled past the Highlanders with points to spare, taking the game 72-57. Given Mater Dei Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 184th, while the Highlanders are ranked 530th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mater Dei Catholic's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Maseyo Elliott, who scored 17 points along with seven assists and five rebounds. Elliott has been hot recently, having posted 16 or more points the last three times he's played. John Hawthorne was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, San Ysidro came up short against the Mustangs on Wednesday and fell 54-46.
Mater Dei Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-11 record this season. As for San Ysidro, they have been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last ten matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-19 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Mater Dei Catholic against the Cougars when the teams last played back in January as the squad secured a 95-52 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mater Dei Catholic since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.