Two dominant guards in Cole Barton and Luis Hernandez are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Pinnacle Panthers will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Green River Pirates at 7:00 p.m. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Utah (Pinnacle is ranked 129th, while Green River is ranked 112th).
Last Tuesday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Pinnacle had to settle for a 40-37 defeat against Monticello. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Pinnacle has scored all season.
Barton put forth a good effort for the losing side as he almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds. Barton is crushing the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Howell, who scored five points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Green River beat Caprock Academy 55-45 on Thursday.
Green River's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Hernandez, who scored 21 points. Hernandez is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Rolando Anguiano, who scored 15 points.
Pinnacle's loss dropped their record down to 9-9. As for Green River, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Pinnacle hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 56.8 points per game. However, it's not like Green River struggles in that department as they've been averaging 61.6 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Pinnacle ended up a good deal behind Green River in their previous matchup back in January, losing 65-47. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hernandez, who scored 24 points. Now that Pinnacle knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
