Santa Paula and Malibu are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Santa Paula Cardinals will head out to square off against the Malibu Sharks at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Santa Paula will be strutting in after a win while Malibu will be coming in after a loss.
Last Friday, Santa Paula strolled past Nordhoff with points to spare, taking the game 59-41. Given the Cardinals' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 457th, while the Rangers are ranked 1152nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Malibu's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They were beaten by Hueneme 72-44.
Santa Paula will have to contain Dylan Goosen as he made an impact in Malibu's last game. He went 13 of 26 on his way to 37 points along with eight boards and four steals. Goosen's afternoon made it 26 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points.
Malibu's defeat dropped their record down to 8-5. As for Santa Paula, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-7.
Everything came up roses for Santa Paula against Malibu when the teams last played back in January of 2024, as the squad secured an 83-21 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Santa Paula since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
