The Calvary Baptist Cougars came tearing into Friday's contest with eight straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 36.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with an 80-72 win over Norte Vista. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Calvary Baptist found their leader in underclassman Gradi Ekutshu, who almost dropped a triple-double on 25 points, 16 rebounds, and nine blocks. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Ekutshu has scored all season. Pier Mancin was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with three steals.
Norte Vista lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Hugo Morales, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and 12 rebounds. Morales continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Bryan Ramirez, who scored 23 points along with two steals.
Calvary Baptist's win was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-4. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.0 points per game. As for Norte Vista, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 13-9.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Calvary Baptist will take on the Warriors at 2:30 p.m. on Monday. Crossroads Christian will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 1404th, while the Cougars are ranked 588th). As for Norte Vista, they will take on the Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ramona has now lost nine straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 28.
