Two dominant guards in Nate Sweet and Manno Jenkins are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Union Mine Diamondbacks will face off against the Natomas Nighthawks at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Union Mine's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Union Mine had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They enjoyed a cozy 67-48 win over Riverbank on Thursday. Given Union Mine's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 200th, while Riverbank is ranked 514th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Natomas put the finishing touches on their 13th blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 83-50 victory over Sutter. The win was nothing new for Natomas as they're now sitting on nine straight.
Natomas relied on the efforts of Aeron Wallace, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and five assists, and Jenkins, who scored 22 points along with five assists and five rebounds. Jenkins hasn't dropped below two steals for ten straight games. Darius Hemmingway was another key contributor, almost dropping a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds.
Union Mine's win bumped their record up to 28-2. As for Natomas, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 22-8 record this season.
Union Mine won a contest that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, slipping by Natomas 76-75. Will Union Mine repeat their success, or does Natomas have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
