Leroy Greene Academy is 5-0 against Westlake Charter since January of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Leroy Greene Academy Lions will head out on the road to take on the Westlake Charter Explorers at 7:30 p.m. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Leroy Greene Academy pushed their score all the way to 57 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. The contest between Leroy Greene Academy and Elite wasn't particularly close, with Leroy Greene Academy falling 72-57. While losing is never fun, Leroy Greene Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1018th, while Elite is ranked 449th).
Leroy Greene Academy's defeat came about despite a quality game from Cobee Wesley, who scored 26 points along with four steals and two blocks. That's the first time this season that Wesley posted two or more blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Moralez, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds and seven steals.
Meanwhile, Westlake Charter fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against John Adams Academy on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 83-76 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Patriots. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Westlake Charter's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Quinones Fleeton, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Matthew Quilatan who scored 24 points. Jarriel Taylor was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with nine rebounds.
Leroy Greene Academy has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which lines up perfectly with their 4-12 record this season. As for Westlake Charter, they dropped their record down to 8-9 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road.
Thursday's match will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Wesley and Brian Ash. Wesley has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 17.8 points, 1.6 steals, and 2.6 rebounds. For his part, Ash has averaged 15.9 points, 1.7 blocks, and 2.4 steals.
Leroy Greene Academy was able to grind out a solid victory over Westlake Charter in their previous matchup on January 9th, winning 67-55. The rematch might be a little tougher for Leroy Greene Academy since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
