Basketball Recap: Venture Academy's Winning Streak Snapped at Five Games

After a string of five wins, Venture Academy's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They took a 68-58 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Elk Grove Thundering Herd. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (57), the Mustangs still had to take the loss.

Venture Academy's loss came despite strong showings from Jabril Lewis-Muhammad and Jayden Akuva. Lewis-Muhammad went 7 for 9 on his way to 16 points, while Akuva went 6 of 10 en route to 14 points and three steals. Lewis-Muhammad's evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Lee Wiggins, who posted seven points.

Elk Grove's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Noah Hargrave, who went 8 of 20 on his way to 26 points and five rebounds. Hargrave continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Jason Raga was another key player, putting up 15 points and four steals.

Venture Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 7-2. As for Elk Grove, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-1.

Venture Academy and Elk Grove should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps California Rankings. Venture Academy (ranked 227th) will meet Millennium (ranked 1280th) at 5:00 p.m. on January 4, 2025. Venture Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 72.1 points per game this season. Similarly, Elk Grove (ranked 64th) will meet Kennedy (ranked 856th) at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.