Two teams sporting undefeated division records and winning streaks will collide on Friday in Pacific Palisades as Palisades welcomes Fairfax to town.
The teams are neck-and-neck in the Western Basketball division, with neither having lost a division game.
The Lions have the edge on paper, with strong talent and the No. 18 ranking in the state. They have won 11 straight games, with their only loss of the season coming to Torrey Pines on Dec. 27.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, have won five in a row. They have won all three of their Western Basketball division games, but have a 10-6 overall record. Palisades has rebounded of late; after a stretch in December where it lost four straight games, the Dolphins have been undefeated since Dec. 30 and have won their last four games by double-digits.
But they will be challenged by Fairfax, which boasts a pair of outstanding guards in junior Jamal Hartwell and sophomore Ethan Anderson, and just got versatile star sophomore Robert McRae back from a broken hand on Wednesday. In that game, the Lions narrowly defeated rival Westchester 60-57.
Transfers in sophomore guard Ronald Mitchell and junior forward Shawn Booker are also players to watch for Fairfax.
Palisades comes in averaging 60.9 points per game after a blowout 61-39 win over Los Angeles CES on Wednesday. One of its signature wins this season came against University last Monday, when the Dolphins handed Uni its first loss after a 13-0 start.
A good 3-point shooting team, Palisades is led by senior guard Daniel Emein and sophomore point guard Nick Kerkorian.
For Palisades, this will be the first of a back-to-back, as the Dolphins play Maranatha on Saturday. Fairfax will take on Los Angeles CES next Monday.
The game on Friday will tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
