The San Jacinto Tigers were the 67-61 winner over the Heritage Patriots when they last played one another back in December of 2021, but their luck changed this time around. San Jacinto took a 80-66 bruising from Heritage on Monday. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Stephen Castleberry and Josiah Mejia certainly did their best on Monday to try and avoid the loss. Castleberry dropped a double-double on 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Mejia scored 22 points along with eight rebounds and six assists. Mejia continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Manasseh Omonua was another key contributor, scoring three points along with two blocks.
Heritage got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Adrian Viray out in front who scored 25 points along with five assists and two steals. Viray continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Donovan Larry, who scored 18 points along with four steals.
This is the second loss in a row for San Jacinto and nudges their season record down to 8-8. As for Heritage, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 8-12.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. San Jacinto won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Citrus Hill at 5:30 p.m. on January 16th. Citrus Hill has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 404 points over their last six contests. As for Heritage, they will head out on the road to square off against Paloma Valley at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Paloma Valley's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matches.
