Basketball Recap: Maywood Academy Takes a Tough Playoff Loss

Maywood Academy and Downtown Magnets squared off in some playoff action on Saturday, but Maywood Academy had to settle for second. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 54-53 to the Downtown Magnets Suns. The Nighthawks' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Rodrigo Miranda

Assists

11/15/24 vs Belmont	25
11/22/24 @ Aspire Ollin	17
02/22/25 @ Downtown Magnets	16
02/20/25 vs Hawkins	15
02/10/25 vs Elizabeth	15
+ 17 more games

Several Nighthawks players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Rodrigo Miranda, who almost dropped a double-double with nine points and 16 assists. Miranda has become a key player for Maywood Academy: the team is 15-7 when he posts at least eight assists, but 1-7 otherwise. Oscar Lepe was another key player, dropping a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds.

Downtown Magnets got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Justin Huang out in front who went 7-for-17 en route to 17 points and four steals. Huang has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Angel Orozco, who posted six points in addition to nine steals and seven boards.

Maywood Academy's loss dropped their record down to 16-14. As for Downtown Magnets, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 15 of their last 17 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-7 record this season.

Maywood Academy does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Downtown Magnets, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 55-52 win against Huntington Park on the 25th.