Basketball Recap: Dain Diaz's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Santana over Granite Hills

If Santana was feeling good fresh off their 61-19 takedown of El Cajon Valley last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Santana Sultans took a 61-47 bruising from the Granite Hills Eagles on Friday. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Eagles this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 73-46 last Tuesday.

Dain Diaz

Assists (Career)

02/07/25 vs Granite Hills	2
02/04/25 @ El Cajon Valley	1
01/31/25 @ Valhalla	1
01/24/25 vs West Hills	1
01/21/25 vs Grossmont	1

Santana's loss came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Dain Diaz, who posted 12 points and seven rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Diaz a new career-high in assists (two). Jose Garcia was another key player, going 5 for 8 on his way to 12 points.

Lathan Fry was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double with 15 points and 30 boards for Granite Hills. Fry is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least ten every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Andre Dankha, who had 15 points in addition to five boards and three blocks.

Santana has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 12-12 record this season. As for Granite Hills, the victory (which was their ninth in a row) raised their record to 14-10.

Looking ahead, Santana will head out on the road to square off against Grossmont at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Santana is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.5 points per game this season. As for Granite Hills, they are taking a road trip to take on El Cajon Valley at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing isn't great for El Cajon Valley: they have been struggling with four straight losses at home, while Granite Hills has snatched up four consecutive wins on the road.