Basketball Game Preview: Mt. Carmel Sundevils vs. Escondido Charter Tigers

Mt. Carmel is on a three-game streak of home losses, Escondido Charter a four-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck will change on Thursday. The Mt. Carmel Sundevils will finish 2024 at home by hosting the Escondido Charter Tigers at 8:00 p.m. Mt. Carmel is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.4 points per game this season.

Last Thursday, Mt. Carmel came up short against Helix and fell 59-46.

Despite the loss, Mt. Carmel saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Tyler Humphrey posted 13 points along with seven boards and three blocks. Humphrey is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylon Boyd, who put up ten points.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Escondido Charter took on Escondido on Friday. Escondido Charter snuck past Escondido with a 49-45 win.

Escondido Charter's win came from a few key players Mt. Carmel will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Boldyn Rimmer, who had 17 points and three steals. What's more, he also racked up four rebounds, the most he's had since back in December of 2023. Joe Scates was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds.

Escondido Charter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Mt. Carmel's defeat dropped their record down to 2-10. As for Escondido Charter, their victory bumped their record up to 4-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Mt. Carmel has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 26.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Escondido Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.