The Central Valley Hawks lost against the El Capitan Gauchos back in February of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. Central Valley took a 55-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of El Capitan. While losing is never fun, Central Valley can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1054th, while El Capitan is ranked 474th).
When it comes to explaining why Central Valley lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jellmar Mata. Despite the final result, he scored 11 points along with three steals. Another player making a difference was Andre Flores, who scored four points along with nine rebounds and six assists.
El Capitan's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was AJ Tadeo, who scored 14 points along with three steals. Braylen Centeno was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with four steals.
Central Valley has been struggling recently, as they've lost 12 of their last 14 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-16 record this season. As for El Capitan, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 13-9.
Central Valley won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Central Catholic at 5:00 p.m. on January 20th. The timing is sure in Central Catholic's favor as the squad sits on four straight wins at home while Central Valley has been banged up by 19 consecutive losses on the road. El Capitan will take on Merced at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
