Basketball Game Preview: Santa Rita Eagles vs. St. John Paul II Catholic Lions

The Santa Rita Eagles will face off against the St. John Paul II Catholic Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Santa Rita is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.2 points per game this season.

Santa Rita is headed into the match having just posted their biggest win since February 2nd on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Maryvale Prep with a sharp 65-45 victory. The Eagles pushed the score to 52-30 by the end of the third, a deficit the Matador cut but never quite recovered from.

It was another big night for Michael Ross, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten boards. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Vernon Johnson JR, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten assists.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 56 points the game before, St. John Paul II Catholic was a bit more limited in their contest on Tuesday. They were outmatched by Tempe Prep and fell 61-30. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 163rd, while the Knights are ranked 29th).

St. John Paul II Catholic has traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last seven games, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-8 record this season. As for Santa Rita, their win bumped their record up to 2-4.

Santa Rita lost to St. John Paul II Catholic at home by a decisive 63-44 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Thankfully for Santa Rita, Layne Dickens (who went 9 of 20 on his way to 24 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.