The Marquez Gladiators came tearing into Friday's matchup with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 28.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They enjoyed a cozy 78-59 win over Sotomayor. Given Marquez's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 353rd, while Sotomayor is ranked 731st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Marquez to victory were Lamont White Jr and Cravon Charles. White Jr scored 23 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds, while Charles scored 23 points along with six rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Charles has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Diego Velazquez, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Marquez is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season. As for Sotomayor, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-10.
Marquez won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Bellflower at 1:00 p.m. on January 20th. Bellflower is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak. As for Sotomayor, they will head out on the road to square off against Maywood CES at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.
