The Verdugo Hills Dons had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 33.8 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They took down North Hollywood 60-42. Given Verdugo Hills' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 394th, while North Hollywood is ranked 859th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Verdugo Hills to victory, but perhaps none more so than Alexander Martinez, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Georges Abdulnour, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 14 rebounds.
North Hollywood's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Caymen Smith, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Chase Guillory, who scored six points along with three steals.
Verdugo Hills has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season. As for North Hollywood, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-15 record this season.
Verdugo Hills won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Grant at 5:30 p.m. on January 18th. Grant is coming into the match hot, having won their last six games. As for North Hollywood, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Chavez at 7:00 p.m. Chavez is hoping to put an end to a five-game streak of away losses.
