The Scotts Valley Falcons pushed their score all the way to 63 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 76-63 to Santa Cruz. While losing is never fun, Scotts Valley can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 633rd, while Santa Cruz is ranked 115th).
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Santa Cruz to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ben Dotten, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. Dotten also posted eight assists for the first time this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Demarco Hunter, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks.
Scotts Valley has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-12 record this season. As for Santa Cruz, they are on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 15 games, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Scotts Valley will challenge San Lorenzo Valley on Tuesday. San Lorenzo Valley is on a four-game streak of home losses, Scotts Valley a three-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck is about to change. As for Santa Cruz, they will head out on the road to challenge Aptos at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Aptos' favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last six matches.
