Preview: Hemet Bulldogs vs. Heritage Patriots
After two games on the road, Hemet is heading back home. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Heritage Patriots at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Hemet knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past ten matches -- so hopefully Heritage likes a good challenge.
Hemet has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 22 points or more this season. They were the clear victor by a 74-50 margin over Ramona. Given Hemet's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 178th, while Ramona is ranked 1105th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Heritage pushed their score all the way to 66 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of La Sierra by a score of 68-66. Heritage has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Heritage's loss came about despite a quality game from Aiden De Leon, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten rebounds. De Leon scored a full 31.8% of Heritage's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Aaron Contreras , who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Hemet's win bumped their record up to 13-2. As for Heritage, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.
Hemet strolled past Heritage when the teams last played back in January by a score of 64-46. Does Hemet have another victory up their sleeve, or will Heritage turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
