Basketball Recap: Hillcrest Christian Comes Up Short

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Hillcrest Christian can now relate to. They came up short against the Mark Keppel Aztecs on Wednesday, falling 71-50. While losing is never fun, the Saints can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 508th, while the Aztecs are ranked 176th).

Will Friel

Field Goal Percentage

02/12/25 vs Mark Keppel	64%
02/05/25 @ Pilibos	50%
02/03/25 @ San Fernando Valley Academy	71%
01/29/25 @ Oak Park	58%
01/28/25 vs Newbury Park Adventist	63%
01/25/25 vs St. Francis	67%

Despite the loss, Hillcrest Christian still got an impressive performance from Will Friel, who went 7-for-11 en route to 16 points and six boards. Friel is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was Carter Reid, who posted six points in addition to five rebounds and four blocks.

Hillcrest Christian has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-15 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.8 points over those games. The win (which was Mark Keppel's 13th in a row) raised their record to 24-5.

Hillcrest Christian does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Mark Keppel, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 52-49 victory against Woodbridge on the 14th.