Two dominant players in JUSTIN GIST and Henry Robinson Jr. are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The University Christian Christians will face off against the Matanzas Pirates at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
University Christian had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against IMG Academy White by a score of 65-54 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, even though University scored an imposing 69 points on Wednesday, Matanzas still came out on top. Matanzas took their match against University 78-69. The victory was familiar territory for Matanzas who now have three in a row.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Matanzas to victory, but perhaps none more so than Robinson Jr., who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 14 rebounds. Robinson Jr. is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last 11 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Rya'sir Jefferson, who scored 29 points along with four steals.
University Christian pushed their record up to 4-8 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.0 points per game. As for Matanzas, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-9 record this season.
University Christian took their victory against Matanzas when the teams last played back in January of 2022 by a conclusive 53-32. Will University Christian repeat their success, or does Matanzas have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
