The Long Reach Lightning had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.5 points), and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. They walked away with a 77-64 win over Marriotts Ridge. Given Long Reach's advantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while Marriotts Ridge is ranked 152nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Long Reach had a senior duo take command as RJ Barnes scored 25 points along with three steals and Jayden Saunders scored 20 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. Saunders hasn't dropped below two steals for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Dillon Mckinney, who scored ten points along with six rebounds.
Long Reach pushed their record up to 12-1 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.5 points per game. As for Marriotts Ridge, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 7-5.
Long Reach will face off against Hammond at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Marriotts Ridge on the road again on Friday and play against Key at 12:00 p.m. on January 19th.
