Basketball Recap: Canyon Comes Up Short

While it was all tied up 23-23 at halftime, Canyon was not quite Crean Lutheran's equal in the second half on Friday. They fell 62-51 to the Crean Lutheran Saints. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Comanches came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 27th, while the Saints are ranked 133rd).

When it comes to explaining why Canyon lost, don't look at Brandon Benjamin. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds. That was a full 37.3% of Canyon's points, marking the seventh time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Staf Yilmazturk, who scored 16 points and eight boards.

Canyon's loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 17-5. As for Crean Lutheran, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-9.

Canyon has already played their next game, an 84-75 defeat against Inglewood on the 18th. As for Crean Lutheran, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 53-38 loss against Damien on the 18th.