It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but the Valencia Jaguars ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They skirted past Del Norte 68-66. That's two games straight that Valencia has won by exactly two points.
Damian Estrada continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 20 points and 10 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now stole two or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jared Porter, who scored 12 points along with 6 rebounds.
Despite the defeat, Del Norte saw an underclassman step up: Francois Satchivi scored 21 points along with 8 rebounds and 6 steals. Satchivi scored a full 31.8% of Del Norte's points, the second time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Pedro Padron, who scored 11 points along with 4 steals.
Valencia's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points per game. As for Del Norte, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-4.
Valencia will play host again and welcome Los Alamos, where tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on December 14th. Del Norte will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against Manzano at 2:00 p.m. on December 9th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in New Mexico (Manzano is ranked 65th, while Del Norte is ranked 83rd).
