If the Laguna Creek Cardinals were riding high off their 77-44 takedown of the River City Raiders last Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Laguna Creek received a tough blow on Friday as they fell 72-55 to Monterey Trail. While losing is never fun, Laguna Creek can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 209th, while Monterey Trail is ranked 33rd).
Laguna Creek lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Sonai Murphy, who scored seven points along with 18 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylan Virgil, who scored 17 points.
Monterey Trail got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Kentrell Kelly out in front who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. Kelly has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. Brandon Gibson Jr was another key contributor, scoring 19 points along with seven rebounds.
Laguna Creek has been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-9 record this season. As for Monterey Trail, the win was the eighth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-1.
Laguna Creek won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Rio Americano at 9:00 a.m. on January 13th. As for Monterey Trail, they will head out on the road to challenge Burbank at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
