Franklin is on a seven-game streak of home wins, while Eastlake is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Franklin Cougars will take on the Eastlake Falcons at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Franklin strolled past Montwood with points to spare, taking the game 57-40.
Franklin's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Noah Hall, who scored 12 points. Ethan Martinez was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with five assists and two steals.
Eastlake posted their closest win yet this season on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Montwood and snuck past 51-48. 51 seems to be a good number for Eastlake as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Eastlake to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lucas Brandon, who scored 18 points along with five assists and two steals. Another player making a difference was Aaron Vargas, who scored 15 points.
Franklin has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. As for Eastlake, their win bumped their record up to 17-12.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Franklin have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 44.3% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Eastlake struggles in that department as they've made 39.1% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Franklin barely slipped by Eastlake in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, winning 54-53. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Vargas, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Franklin still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
