Basketball Recap: Escondido Snaps Six-Game Streak of Wins at Home

Escondido fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against Ramona on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 66-58 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Ramona Bulldogs. The loss continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now lost six in a row.

Despite the defeat, Escondido had strong showings from Nathan James, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 15 boards, and Maddox Mendoza, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave James a new career-high in assists (four). Danny Valadez was another key player, putting up 14 points.

Ramona got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Daniel Penner out in front who posted 18 points along with seven assists and seven steals. Another player making a difference was Eric Lopez, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 14 boards.

Escondido's loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 14-5. As for Ramona, they picked up their first road win, bumping their record up to 7-13.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Escondido Cougars face off against the Valley Center Jaguars at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Valley Center knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Escondido likes a good challenge. As for Ramona, they will take on Fallbrook at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ramona is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 60.7 points per game this season.