The Central Catholic Raiders waltzed into their matchup on Monday with 11 straight wins but they left with 12. They strolled past Turlock with points to spare, taking the game 50-34. Given Central Catholic's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 183rd, while Turlock is ranked 479th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Central Catholic to victory, but perhaps none more so than Wesley Payne, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 13 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Wentworth, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 14 rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why Turlock lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jeremiah Evans. Despite the final result, he scored no points along with 30 steals and seven rebounds. Dutch Lawrence was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
Central Catholic's victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-5. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.6 points per game. As for Turlock, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-11.
Central Catholic has the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome Oakdale at 7:30 p.m. on January 31st. Central Catholic is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 58.3 points per game this season. Turlock will be staying on the road on Wednesday to face off against Gregori at 7:30 p.m. on January 31st. One thing working in Gregori's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matches.
