Rochester is 2-8 against Berkley since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Rochester Falcons will welcome the Berkley Bears at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Rochester earned a 48-35 victory over Utica. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 171st, while the Chieftains are ranked 470th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Berkley). They blew past Oakside Prep Academy 72-50 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Bears have posted since December 6, 2024.
Berkley's win came from a few key players Rochester will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Evan Haenick, who posted 13 points in addition to five assists and four steals. He has become a key player for Berkley: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three steals, but 2-13 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Friedman, who went 5-for-9 en route to 13 points and four blocks.
Berkley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive games.
Rochester is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.9 points over those games. As for Berkley, their victory ended a six-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-14.
Rochester didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Berkley when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 60-54 win. Will Rochester repeat their success, or does Berkley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
