Basketball Game Preview: Futures Knights vs. Encina Bulldogs

The Futures Knights will take on the Encina Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in Futures' favor as the squad sits on 14 straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Encina has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.

Futures is headed into the match having just posted their closest victory since February 13, 2024 on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Victory Christian 48-45.

Futures found their leader in freshman Anthoni Moore, who almost dropped a double-double on 27 points and nine rebounds. Moore has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last eight times he's played. Elijah Lewis was another key player, putting up 12 points.

Meanwhile, Encina came up short against John Adams Academy Rsvl/Lin on Friday and fell 48-41.

Futures will need focus on slowing down Phillip Worsham, one of several Encina players who made an impact when they last played. He posted eight points in addition to 11 steals and five assists. Another player making a difference was Nathaniel Wroten, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine boards.

Even though they lost, Encina smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive boards in six consecutive contests.

Futures is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.1 points per game. As for Encina, their loss dropped their record down to 4-10.

Everything came up roses for Futures against Encina when the teams last played on January 3rd, as the squad secured a 76-39 victory. In that matchup, Futures amassed a halftime lead of 36-11, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.