PAL Academy unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They fell 49-41 to the Desert Mirage RAMS on Thursday. The Bulls' defeat continues a trend for the squad, making it 11 in a row dating back to last season.
When it comes to explaining why PAL Academy lost, don't look at Ronald Clark. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds. Xavier Davis was another key player, earning eight points along with 14 rebounds.
Even though they lost, PAL Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Desert Mirage only pulled down seven.
Leading Desert Mirage to victory were Edy Espinoza and Omar Martinez. Espinoza almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine assists, while Martinez posted 14 points plus five rebounds and four steals. The dominant performance gave Espinoza a new career-high in assists. Another player making a difference was Marcus Oviedo, who scored seven points along with nine rebounds.
The win made it two in a row for Desert Mirage and bumps their season record up to 2-1.
PAL Academy is headed away from home for the first time to challenge Glenn at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Desert Mirage, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Holtville at 5:30 p.m. on December 2nd.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
