Basketball Game Preview: Escondido Charter Tigers vs. St. Joseph Academy Crusaders

The Escondido Charter Tigers will challenge the St. Joseph Academy Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Escondido Charter is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.5 points per game this season.

Last Thursday, Escondido Charter didn't have quite enough to beat Tri-City Christian and fell 50-48. The Tigers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Despite their defeat, Escondido Charter saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Max Mowrey, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Mowrey has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Boldyn Rimmer also deserves some recognition as he posted his first block of the season.

Even though they lost, Escondido Charter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tri-City Christian only pulled down seven offensive boards.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They lost to Del Lago Academy on the road by a 57-38 margin.

Escondido Charter will have to keep a close watch on Justice Ahiafor and Sean Howard, a pair of players who had a big impact on St. Joseph Academy's prior game. Ahiafor posted 11 points, while Howard put up 11 points.

Escondido Charter's defeat dropped their record down to 10-14. As for St. Joseph Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 8-15.

Escondido Charter was able to grind out a solid victory over St. Joseph Academy in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 70-59. The rematch might be a little tougher for Escondido Charter since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.