Basketball Recap: Cleveland Extends Winning Streak to Eight

Cavaliers

Previous Games

01/15/25 vs Taft	76-47
12/30/24 vs Lakewood	59-57
12/28/24 vs Price	43-34
12/27/24 vs Salesian	55-36
12/26/24 vs Los Amigos	59-39
+ 3 more games

Cleveland came tearing into Wednesday's game with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Taft Toreadors 76-47. Given the Cavaliers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Toreadors are ranked 457th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

It was another big night for Kamari King, who went 8 of 14 en route to 19 points along with seven assists and six boards. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rebounds. Another player making a difference was Cayden Kelly, who went 5 for 8 on his way to 13 points.

King wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Cleveland was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

When it comes to explaining why Taft lost, don't look at Jayden Thomas. Despite the final result, he posted eight points in addition to ten boards and three blocks. Thomas has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times he's played. Joseph Dickson Jr was another key player, putting up four points.

Cleveland pushed their record up to 13-4 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 36 points. As for Taft, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-10 record this season.

Cleveland has already played their next contest, a 49-41 win against Granada Hills Charter on the 17th. As for Taft, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, an 83-73 defeat against Birmingham on the 17th.