by Lucas Garrison, Sports Editor

Braves versus the “Team in Red:” a rivalry as old as time. One will stand, one will fall. But who will come out on top?

The Braves are riding the wave of two wins which came against Orange Lutheran, and most notably a win versus the Servite Friars. The final score of the road win was 71-67. The team was lead by Josh Camper, and Wynton Brown who combined put up 24 points. Brown was also the leading rebounder with 14 rebounds, Holm was right behind him with 9 rebounds as the Braves dominated the glass against the Friars.

However, two days after the Braves defeated the Fiars, the Braves took on the Lions of JSerra and were defeated by a score of 55-54. The game came literally down to the wire as star Isaiah Holm attempted a buzzer-beater, however, it bounced up and down four times before it bounced off the back iron for a miss. A true killer for the Braves. 

“It looked good, it felt good, and it was continuing to bounce up and down and roll around like it was so sort of joke. Until it finally hit the ground. It hurt I felt like I let my team down. But it is what it is nothing I can change now,” Holm said. 

Now the Braves face the Monarchs tonight, which will be no piece of cake. As the Monarchs continue to prove to be one of the nation’s most recognizable teams. 

Both teams are having excellent seasons, as the Braves and the “Team in Red” will take the court tonight inside the “Thunderdome.” The Braves come into tonight’s game with a record of 15-5 (2-1) and will be lead tonight by their seniors: Chico State-commit Isiah Holm, Northern Arizona-commit Wynton Brown and captain Josh Camper. All three of these young men have been nominated for the McDonald’s All-American game.

Coming into this game the Braves have been playing well, but they will need to step their game up to another level in order to beat the “Team in Red” for the third year straight. The “Team in Red” are sporting the same starting lineup as last year, and this gives them a huge chemistry advantage. However, the Braves do have a core of seniors that for the most part have been playing together since freshman year. 

This season, the Braves shooting has been the story, as they are averaging 65 points per game to go along with shooting 45% from the field. The most notable scores are Camper who averages twelve points per game along with Lamaj Lewis who also averages twelve per game. 

One area the Braves do struggle in sometimes is ball movement, as they only average 14 assists per game as a team. 

“Yes, we lack in assists, no excuse. However, we have a quick-fire offense that can put up a shot within the first 5 seconds of our shot clock,” said Josh Camper.

But the Braves will have to do more than hit shots to beat the “Team in Red.”

“We gotta fight. Simple as that. They are a tough team. They have the same roster as last year and continue to get better from game to game. We need to take them down early and light up the scoreboard. It will be a team effort.”

The Braves take on the “Team in Red” at 7:30pm and will have a tough match up on their hands. The Braves will rely on each other to win and look to hand the “Team in Red” their fourth loss of the season.

FINAL SCORE:

64 – 61 Braves