The Valley View Eagles fought the good fight in their overtime match against the Linfield Christian Lions on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 81-73 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Lions. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the defeat, Valley View saw an underclassman step up: Charles Knight scored 27 points along with nine steals and six rebounds. Those nine steals set a new season-high mark for him. Jalyn Talbert was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Valley View were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Linfield Christian only pulled down seven offensive rebounds.
Linfield Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Drew Pierce led the charge by scoring 31 points along with six steals and five rebounds. The matchup was Pierce's 11th in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Julius Brower, who scored 21 points along with nine assists and eight rebounds.
Valley View's defeat dropped their record down to 8-8. As for Linfield Christian, their victory was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-7.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Valley View won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Great Oak at 6:00 p.m. on December 27, 2023. Great Oak presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Valley View in California (Great Oak is ranked 177th, while Valley View is ranked 520th). Linfield Christian will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against Paloma Valley at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Paloma Valley is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak.
