Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up eight more assists than your opponent, a fact the Arcata Tigers proved on Friday. They strolled past McKinleyville with points to spare, taking the game 59-44. This was payback for Arcata, who suffered a 51-34 loss the last time these two teams met.
Arcata got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Luke Lemke out in front who dropped a triple-double on 15 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists. That's the first time this season that Lemke pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Dawson Vallerga, who scored 19 points along with two steals.
Despite the loss, McKinleyville still got an impressive performance from Flynn Creighton, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. Creighton has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Bode Douglass, who scored 11 points.
Arcata has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 12-10 record this season. As for McKinleyville, their loss dropped their record down to 16-9.
Coincidentally, the two teams will both be playing Eureka the next time they take the court. Arcata will host Eureka at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, while McKinleyville will host them at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
