Excitement already is building for Friday’s pivotal District 30-5A showdown when Ray travels to Miller.
First place is on the line when Ray (12-0) and Miller (12-1) square off. The game will be broadcast live on our sister state KDF-TV starting at 7:30 p.m. It will also be streamed live on KRISTV.com.
Ray claimed the first game between the two teams on Jan. 2 at Ray with a 61-48 triumph.
Both teams say their offenses struggled in that game. Or it could have been nerves or coming out of the Christmas holiday.
Miller must win this game in order to keep its district title hopes alive with about a month left in the regular season.
Both teams are excited about the rematch.
Miller forward Demetrius Guzman said the Bucs’ coaches have them ready for Friday’s game.
“This is going to be a very intense game,” Guzman said. “We have to go out there and execute our plays and believe in our coaches. They have prepared us for this. We just have to go out there and transform it to the game and we will be alright.”
Miller forward Rahene Nedd said a smart start will be critical to allow the Bucs to capitalize on what should be a loud, rowdy crowd.
“What’s going through my mind I just know that coming off the jump we have to be aggressive and play our game and we can’t get thrown off,” Nedd said. “This time I know we are going to have to slow down because last time we started off way too quick and we forced things and got thrown off.”
The loud, rambunctious Buc fans have caught the attention of Ray guard Jalen Williams.
“We are expecting it to be very intense,” Williams said. “And if we can stick to what we have been doing the last half of the season we will be fine. They have a lot of athleticism on their team, so I feel like if we box out and push the pace and rebound well we will come out with the win.”
Ray guard Ryan Nurenberg expects some big changes from the Bucs after their earlier loss to the Texans.
“You know they are going to change what they do because obviously, we beat them the first time,” Nurenberg said. “But every team is coming out to beat us and we are trying to reach our goal of winning a district championship so this is really important.
“Our goal is 16-0, but we can’t do that without beating them.”
The stakes are very high. Expect a sellout crowd to watch this one in person.
