After flying high against the Oakland Tech Bulldogs on Thursday, the Venture Academy Mustangs came back down to earth. Venture Academy fell 71-62 to Weston Ranch on Friday. While losing is never fun, Venture Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 168th, while Weston Ranch is ranked 50th).
When it comes to explaining why Venture Academy lost, one person who can't be blamed is Mario Williams. Despite the final result, he scored 29 points along with six rebounds. The matchup was Williams' 13th in a row with at least ten points. Marcos Rosales was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Weston Ranch's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Mateen Rafiq led the charge by scoring 21 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. The contest was Rafiq's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Darrion Lilly, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Venture Academy's loss dropped their record down to 12-2. As for Weston Ranch, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season.
Venture Academy and Turlock will face off at 12:00 p.m. on December 30th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Weston Ranch and Edison will face off at 4:30 p.m. on December 30th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Edison knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past three matches -- so hopefully Weston Ranch likes a good challenge.
