Basketball Recap: Chris Jones' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Santa Rosa Academy over Desert Christian Academy

If Santa Rosa Academy was riding high fresh off their 98-12 takedown of Hamilton last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Santa Rosa Academy Rangers fell 72-61 to the Desert Christian Academy Conquerors on Friday. The Rangers have struggled against the Conquerors recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.

Santa Rosa Academy's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Chris Jones, who went 8 of 15 from beyond the arc en route to 32 points and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Austyn Hopkins, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Jones wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Santa Rosa Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Desert Christian Academy only racked up 11 assists.

Desert Christian Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Augustine Youssef, who dropped a double-double on 27 points and 12 boards. The match was Youssef's 24th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Josiah Garrison, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Santa Rosa Academy's loss dropped their record down to 12-7. As for Desert Christian Academy, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 14-1.

Santa Rosa Academy will take on Temecula Prep at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Temecula Prep knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three games -- so hopefully Santa Rosa Academy likes a good challenge. As for Desert Christian Academy, they won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Indio at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.