Downey hasn't had much luck against Modesto Christian recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Downey Knights will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Modesto Christian Crusaders at 7:00 p.m.
Downey's tournament run continued when they took on Sonora last Saturday. Downey fell just short of Sonora by a score of 46-44. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 973rd, while the Wildcats are ranked 446th).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Emerson Digiore, who posted six points along with ten boards and eight steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Miller, who had ten points.
Meanwhile, Modesto Christian waltzed into their matchup on Saturday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They slipped by the Griffins 58-57.
Modesto Christian's win came from a few key players Downey will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gavin Sykes, who put up 19 points and five rebounds. The contest was his seventh in a row with at least ten points. Trevor Dickson was another key player, going 6 of 8 on his way to 16 points.
Modesto Christian now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Downey, their loss dropped their record down to 2-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Downey has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Modesto Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Downey came up short against Modesto Christian in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, falling 44-37. Thankfully for Downey, Jalen Brown (who went 8 of 15 on his way to 18 points and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
