You can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely the Central Spartans's strategy against the Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets on Monday. Central was the clear victor by a 70-44 margin over the Yellow Jackets. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Central also won the last time the pair played back in January.
Jared Martin was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 30 points and 16 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Kaleb Flores, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds.
Despite the loss, Palo Verde Valley still got an impressive performance from Rudy Armstrong, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and ten rebounds. Armstrong hasn't dropped below nine rebounds for seven straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Ezekiel Gibson, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Central is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-11 record this season. As for Palo Verde Valley, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 7-12.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Central has the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome the Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th. Calexico knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past three games -- so hopefully the Spartans like a good challenge. As for Palo Verde Valley, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Imperial is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 55.2 points per game this season.
