St. John Paul II is 2-8 against Munroe since January of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The St. John Paul II Panthers will be staying on the road to face off against the Munroe Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on February 10th. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
With a playoff game on the line, St. John Paul II rose to the challenge on Thursday. They snuck past the Eagles with a 53-48 victory.
St. John Paul II got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Cayden King out in front who scored 23 points along with three steals. King continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Mario Forbes was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 19 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Munroe waltzed into their contest on Thursday with two straight wins but they left with three. They strolled past FAMU DRS with points to spare, taking the game 86-68. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Munroe's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Karlton Knight, who scored 20 points along with four steals, and Leith Kenon, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kenon has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last seven times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Zelden Chukes, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and three steals.
St. John Paul II's victory bumped their record up to 12-13. As for Munroe, their victory bumped their record up to 16-8.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: St. John Paul II have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Munroe struggles in that department as they've been averaging 40.1 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
St. John Paul II didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Munroe when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 55-51 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. John Paul II since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
