The Bakersfield Drillers will venture away from home to challenge the Centennial Golden Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
If Bakersfield beats Centennial with 81 points on Tuesday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. Bakersfield simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Monache 81-32. The win was familiar territory for the Drillers who have now won three contests in a row.
| 01/10/25 vs Monache | 21 |
| 01/09/25 @ Highland | 18 |
| 01/07/25 vs Edison | 21 |
Keshawn Black and Kade Johnson were among the main playmakers for Bakersfield as the former dropped a double-double on 26 points and 19 rebounds and the latter went 10 of 16 on his way to 21 points along with six rebounds and six steals. The game was Johnson's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Rashaan Shehee, who posted two points in addition to 15 assists and seven steals.
Bakersfield smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Centennial humbled Garces Memorial with an 84-56 victory. Given the Golden Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 203rd, while the Rams are ranked 763rd), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Centennial's win came from a few key players Bakersfield will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Michael Gutierrez, who went 7 of 14 on his way to 22 points. He has been hot, having posted 15 or more points the last eight times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Derek Jimenez, who went 7 of 10 on his way to 17 points.
Centennial is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.7 points per game. As for Bakersfield, their victory bumped their record up to 13-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bakersfield has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Centennial struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Bakersfield was taken down by Centennial 88-29 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Can Bakersfield avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
