The Natomas Nighthawks entered their tilt with the Kennedy Cougars with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Natomas managed a 57-53 win over Kennedy on Friday. Winning is a bit easier when you drain five more threes than your opponent, as Natomas did.
Natomas' win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Dereon Jenkins, who scored 14 points along with five steals. Those five steals set a new season-high mark for him. Darius Hemmingway was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six rebounds.
Kennedy lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Taylor Shirley, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. Those 18 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Lawrence, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Natomas is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season. As for Kennedy, their loss dropped their record down to 11-5.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Natomas won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Sacramento at 5:00 p.m. on January 6th. Sacramento knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past three matches -- so hopefully Natomas likes a good challenge. Kennedy won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Burbank at 4:00 p.m. on January 6th. Hopefully Burbank focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Friday.
