The Irvine Vaqueros won the last time they faced the Laguna Hills Hawks, and things went their way on Friday too. Irvine took down Laguna Hills 48-34. Given Irvine's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 393rd, while Laguna Hills is ranked 983rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cooper Stearns was his usual excellent self, scoring 25 points along with nine rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Irvine's points. Taewon Kim was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with seven rebounds.
Irvine is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a massive bump to their 12-11 record this season. As for Laguna Hills, they are on a eight-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-20.
Irvine will look to defend their home court on Monday against Portola at 7:00 p.m. Portola has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games. As for Laguna Hills, they will head out on the road to face off against Northwood at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in Northwood's favor as the squad sits on eight straight wins at home while Laguna Hills has been banged up by 13 consecutive losses on the road.
