The Murrieta Valley Nighthawks will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Temecula Valley Golden Bears at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Murrieta Valley's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 16 contests.
Murrieta Valley pushed their score all the way to 64 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 76-64 to Chaparral. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Murrieta Valley came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 166th, while the Pumas are ranked 673rd).
Despite their defeat, Murrieta Valley saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jacob Casillas, who scored 24 points along with seven rebounds and two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Casillas is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 17 or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Parker Steffen, who scored 16 points along with five assists and three steals.
Meanwhile, Temecula Valley waltzed into their game on Tuesday with two straight wins but they left with three. They walked away with a 70-62 victory over Great Oak. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Murrieta Valley's loss ended a ten-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 17-10. As for Temecula Valley, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-12.
Murrieta Valley came up short against the Golden Bears when the teams last played back in January, falling 81-70. Will Murrieta Valley have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
