Even though the Yucaipa Thunderbirds scored an imposing 61 points on Friday, the Hillcrest Trojans still came out on top. Hillcrest secured a 66-61 W over Yucaipa. Given Hillcrest's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 179th, while Yucaipa is ranked 733rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for McKel Shedrick, who scored 25 points. The game was his 14th in a row with at least ten points. Jacob Lillard was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
When it comes to explaining why Yucaipa lost, one person who can't be blamed is Malik Young. Despite the final result, he scored 28 points along with five assists. Young continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jonathan Campbell, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Hillcrest's win bumped their record up to 12-5. As for Yucaipa, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-9.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Hillcrest is on the road again on Tuesday and play against Ramona at 6:30 p.m. on January 2nd. That game will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Troy Terrell and Shedrick. Yucaipa and Beaumont will face off at 6:45 p.m. on January 3rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Beaumont focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 19 on Saturday.
