This Thursday night at Mountain View High School, one of the most anticipated rematches of the season will take place when the #3 ranked Centennial Patriots (11-2, 9-2) visit the #4 ranked Mountain View Mavericks (10-4, 8-4).
The match up features several of the top players in the conference and in the state. In conference play, the Maverick’s senior guard Tyson Percifield is the top scorer at 20.8 ppg while shooting over 50% from the field, over 40% from the 3-point line and nearly 85% from the free throw line. Additionally, the Mavericks have junior forward Brandon Luedtke who is second in the conference in rebounding at 7.8 rpg and shoots nearly 60% from the field.
For the Patriots, they are led by 6’6 senior forward Faruk Huskic, who leads the 
conference in rebounds at 9.5 rpg, is third in scoring at 15.5 ppg and leads the conference in free throw percentage at 88.1%. Huskic benefits from having senior point guard Patrick Manning on his side. Manning is sixth in the conference in scoring (13.8 ppg) and third in assists (4.5 apg).
However, these teams are far from just a couple of players strong. Though Centennial definitely has a deeper bench, both teams have had a variety of players step up and play big at times.
The last time these teams matched up was on Centennial’s home court on December 10, which went into overtime and came down to a last second shot by Percifield that went in for the win at the buzzer (click here to see a game recap of their first match up).
Since that game, Centennial has won 7 of their last 8 games and is on a seven game winning streak. During this streak the Patriots have averaged 65.7 ppg while holding opponents to just 45.9 ppg. Mountain View has gone 5-3 since that game, playing but up and down.
Looking at their last meeting, Luedtke and Huskic were matched up against each other, with Mountain View in a diamond and one zone/man defense. It will be interesting to see what Mountain View does this time around and if Centennial has crafted anything new to counter it. Centennial started with sophomore Daryl Robertson on Percifield but he got into early foul trouble and the Patriots had to mix things up.
A win by Centennial would move them a full game ahead of Borah in the conference while a win by Mountain View would leave them just a half game back of the Patriots and Borah.