Basketball Recap: Zaraivion Crowe's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Palo Verde Valley over Stevenson

After flying high against Xavier Prep last Friday, Palo Verde Valley came back down to earth. The Palo Verde Valley Yellow Jackets fell just short of the Stevenson Pirates by a score of 57-54 on Saturday. Even though they lost, the Yellow Jackets' still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.2 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).

Palo Verde Valley's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zaraivion Crowe, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 boards. Crowe has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more blocks the last nine times he's played. Yasias Green was another key player, going 5 for 12 on his way to 14 points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Palo Verde Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.

Palo Verde Valley has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season. As for Stevenson, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-5.

Palo Verde Valley will face off against Banning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Palo Verde Valley is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.2 points per game this season. Stevenson and Moreno Valley will round out the year against one another at at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.