Basketball Recap: Taft Comes Up Short

Taft lost against Chatsworth back in January of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Monday. The Taft Toreadors came up short against the Chatsworth Chancellors, falling 79-53. While losing is never fun, the Toreadors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 444th, while the Chancellors are ranked 72nd).

Despite the loss, Taft still got an impressive performance from Joseph Dickson Jr, who posted 31 points along with five assists and three steals. That was a full 58.5% of Taft's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Aiden Garcia, who had eight points and three steals.

It was another big night for Alijah Arenas, who almost dropped a double-double with 28 points and nine boards for Chatsworth. Arenas' afternoon made it 53 games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. CJ Gore was another key player, going 6 of 8 en route to 16 points.

Taft has traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 10-14 record this season. As for Chatsworth, they pushed their record up to 15-7 with the victory, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season.

Taft wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 77-68 loss against Birmingham on the 5th. As for Chatsworth, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 64-55 win against El Camino Real on the 5th.