It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks had no problem doing just that on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 84-82 win over the Eagles. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Leading Murrieta Valley to victory were Parker Steffen and Brady Jones. Steffen scored 25 points along with four steals, while Jones dropped a double-double on 30 points and ten rebounds. Steffen is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 14 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Collin Ingram, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds.
Chaminade lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Jonas Thurman, who scored 34 points along with six rebounds. Kamden Edwards was another key contributor, scoring 24 points along with six rebounds.
Murrieta Valley is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 20-10 record this season. As for Chaminade, their loss was their fifth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 17-13.
Murrieta Valley will take on Long Beach Poly at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Long Beach Poly's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 21 matches. Chaminade does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
