The Englewood Pirates had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They walked away with a 51-41 win over Lake County. For Englewood, this counts as revenge for the 81-71 defeat Lake County walked away with the last time they faced one another back in January of 2023.
Englewood's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Josue Lopez-Diego led the charge by scoring 14 points along with four steals and three blocks. That's the first time this season that Lopez-Diego posted two or more blocks. Another player making a difference was Dominic Dever, who scored 15 points along with two steals.
Lake County's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Isaiah Martinez, who scored 19 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. Martinez is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last three games he's played. Jonathan Valdez was another key contributor, scoring six points along with 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Even though they lost, Lake County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Englewood only pulled down ten offensive rebounds.
Englewood's victory bumped their record up to 5-10. As for Lake County, they now have a losing record at 6-7.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Englewood will take on Jefferson at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Jefferson has now lost 12 straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 4. As for Lake County, they will head out on the road to square off against The Pinnacle at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Hopefully The Pinnacle focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 19 last Tuesday.
