Basketball Game Preview: Yucaipa Thunderbirds vs. Summit SkyHawks

The Yucaipa Thunderbirds will take on the Summit SkyHawks in a holiday battle at at 6:45 p.m. on Monday. Yucaipa has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 2-1 during that stretch of close contests.

Last Friday, Yucaipa slipped by Diamond Bar 76-75. Given the Thunderbirds' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 310th, while the Brahmas are ranked 654th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Yucaipa had a senior duo take command as Malik Young went 12 of 20 on his way to 27 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds and Jaxon Lerma went 5 of 11 en route to 19 points in addition to eight rebounds and five assists. That makes it six consecutive games in which Young has scored at least a third of Yucaipa's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jonathan Campbell, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, Summit posted their biggest victory since February 2nd on Thursday. They blew past South Hills 70-49. The win made it back-to-back victories for the SkyHawks.

Yucaipa has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.5 points per game. As for Summit, their win bumped their record up to 8-4.

Yucaipa might still be hurting after the 79-57 defeat they got from Summit when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Will Yucaipa have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.