Brighton and Murray are an even 4-4 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. Having just played yesterday, the Brighton Bengals will jump right back in to play the Murray Spartans at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Brighton pushed their score all the way to 57 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 66-57 hit to the loss column at the hands of Pleasant Grove. Brighton has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the loss, Brighton got a solid performance out of Nash Matheson, who scored 29 points along with five rebounds and three steals. The contest was Matheson's tenth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Josh Mawhinney, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Murray's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 57-56 to Layton. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the defeat, Murray got a solid performance out of Treyce Wilson, who scored 19 points along with five assists. Those five assists set a new season-high mark for him. Isaiah Beh was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Brighton's record is now 5-5. Murray's record is now 6-2.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Brighton have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 25.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Murray, though, as they've been averaging only 30.9 rebounds per game. Given Brighton's sizeable advantage in that area, Murray will need to find a way to close that gap.
Brighton skirted past Murray 59-57 when the teams last played back in February. Does Brighton have another victory up their sleeve, or will Murray turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
