The Math & Science College Preparatory Sharks will look to defend their home court on Monday against the Downtown Magnets Suns at 4:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Math & Science College Preparatory was fully in charge, breezing past Larchmont Charter 100-48 on the road. Given Math & Science College Preparatory's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 148th, while Larchmont Charter is ranked 407th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Math & Science College Preparatory's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Bryan Ruiz, who scored 20 points along with 8 assists and 7 rebounds, and Sergio Lopez, who dropped a triple-double on 22 points, 10 assists, and 11 steals. The matchup was Lopez's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Samuel Castellon, who scored 14 points along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
Meanwhile, Downtown Magnets had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They breezed by Belmont on the road to the tune of 69-35. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 14 more assists than your opponent, as Downtown Magnets did.
Brayane Kuaka Luyeye and Justin Huang were among the main playmakers for Downtown Magnets as the former dropped a double-double on 15 points and 15 rebounds and the latter scored 20 points along with 6 assists and 5 steals. That makes it two consecutive games in which Huang has scored at least 25% of Downtown Magnets' points. Jason Martinez was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with 6 assists and 3 steals.
The victory makes it two in a row for Math & Science College Preparatory and bumps their season record up to 3-1. As for Downtown Magnets, they pushed their record up to 3-0 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Monday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Math & Science College Preparatory haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 0 turnovers per game. It's a different story for Downtown Magnets, though, as they've been averaging 15.3 per game. Given Math & Science College Preparatory's sizeable advantage in that area, Downtown Magnets will need to find a way to close that gap. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other basketball content.
Math & Science College Preparatory came up short against Downtown Magnets in their previous meeting back in January, falling 85-78. Will Math & Science College Preparatory have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
