It was a good run, but the Marquez Gladiators unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Saturday. They fell just short of Ayala by a score of 61-58. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Marquez in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now lost three in a row.
Marquez's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Cravon Charles, who scored 18 points along with eight rebounds. Charles has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. Elyjah Staples was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Marquez's defeat dropped their record down to 18-7. As for Ayala, they pushed their record up to 16-10 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Marquez and the Bulldogs will face off at 4:00 p.m. on January 29th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Elizabeth will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps California Rankings (they are ranked 1245th, while the Gladiators are ranked 427th). As for Ayala, they will look to defend their home court on Monday against the Braves at 7:00 p.m.
