If the Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils were riding high off their 58-29 takedown of the BASIS Phoenix Firebirds last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Santa Cruz Valley was just a bucket shy of victory on Friday and fell 55-54 to Chandler Prep. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Santa Cruz Valley in their matchups with Chandler Prep: they've now lost three in a row.
Santa Cruz Valley's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Esequiel Perez, who scored 13 points along with four steals. Perez has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 12 times he's played. Daniel Contreras was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Noah Ruiz was his usual excellent self, scoring 23 points along with seven assists and six rebounds for Chandler Prep. Ruiz also posted two blocks for the first time this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb So, who scored 13 points.
Santa Cruz Valley's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-8. As for Chandler Prep, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 10-6.
Santa Cruz Valley will be playing in front of their home fans against Tempe Prep at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (Tempe Prep is ranked 264th, while Santa Cruz Valley is ranked 247th). As for Chandler Prep, they will head out on the road to face off against Horizon Honors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
