Two dominant guards in Daniel Ortiz and Noah McKinney are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Palo Verde Titans will take on the Pusch Ridge Christian Academy Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Palo Verde knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past six games -- so hopefully Pusch Ridge Christian Academy likes a good challenge.
Last Tuesday, Palo Verde made easy work of Safford and carried off a 68-45 win. Given the Titans' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 66th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 237th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Ortiz, who shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double on 29 points and 13 boards. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Adrian Powers, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 14 rebounds.
Palo Verde smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Pusch Ridge Christian Academy came up short against Sabino on Tuesday and fell 70-60. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (57), the Lions still had to take the loss.
Palo Verde will need focus on slowing down Santino Almazan, one of several Pusch Ridge Christian Academy players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 of 12 on his way to 16 points. Another player making a difference was McKinney, who posted 12 points and six boards.
Palo Verde pushed their record up to 13-3 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.1 points per game. As for Pusch Ridge Christian Academy, their defeat ended an eight-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 6-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Palo Verde has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Pusch Ridge Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Palo Verde came up short against Pusch Ridge Christian Academy when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 58-53. Can Palo Verde avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
