Venture Academy is 10-0 against the Eagles since January of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Venture Academy Mustangs are on the road again and plays the Turlock Christian Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th. One thing working in Venture Academy's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Even though Folsom scored an imposing 66 points on Saturday, Venture Academy still came out on top. Venture Academy snuck past the Bulldogs with a 70-66 victory. The victory was all the more spectacular given Venture Academy's disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 222nd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 98th).
Mario Williams was his usual excellent self, scoring 21 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Another player making a difference was Marcos Rosales, who scored ten points.
Meanwhile, Turlock Christian came into Thursday's match having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 58-56 win over Elliot Christian on Thursday. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Turlock Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ben Bylsma led the charge by scoring 20 points along with three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Bylsma has scored at least a third of Turlock Christian's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Miller, who scored 11 points along with five steals.
Venture Academy has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 23-3 record this season. As for Turlock Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 6-15.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Venture Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Turlock Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 13.8 rebounds per game. Given Venture Academy's sizable advantage in that area, the Eagles will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Venture Academy against the Eagles in their previous matchup back in January as the squad secured a 107-32 win. With Venture Academy ahead 66-21 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
