The Encina Prep Bulldogs were the 69-61 winner over the Futures Knights when they last played one another back in December of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Encina Prep took a 76-58 bruising from Futures on Saturday. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Despite the defeat, Encina Prep had strong showings from Sergio De La Cruz, who scored 20 points along with three steals, and Phillip Worsham, who scored 14 points along with six assists and five steals. De La Cruz has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brelin Johnson, who scored two points along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Futures' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Keylen Garth led the charge by scoring 24 points along with eight steals and seven assists. Garth is absolutely dominating the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Daniel Kozlov was another key contributor, shooting 5-for-10 from deep and dropping a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Encina Prep's defeat dropped their record down to 11-5. As for Futures, the win (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 15-5.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Encina Prep will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against Foresthill at 7:30 p.m. on January 16th. One thing working in Foresthill's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last five contests. As for Futures, they will head out on the road to challenge Woodland Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Woodland Christian focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 last Friday.
