The California Trojans have not had quite the year their fans were hoping for to this point, but back-to-back wins may be a sign of good things to come. They managed a 51-47 victory over Jefferson-Morgan on Friday. For California, this counts as revenge for the 54-47 defeat the Rockets walked away with the last time they faced one another back in January.
California's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Caden Monticelli led the charge by scoring seven points along with 14 rebounds and four steals. Monticelli is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down nine or more in the last four games he's played. Jacob Ziolecki was another key contributor, almost dropping a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds.
Several Rockets players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Huston Guesman, who scored 11 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. Guesman is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was John Woodward, who scored 14 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Jefferson-Morgan were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as California only racked up six assists.
California's win bumped their record up to 6-13. As for Jefferson-Morgan, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 12-8.
California won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against the Raiders at 1:30 p.m. on February 3rd. Waynesburg Central is no doubt hoping to put an end to a five-game streak of away losses. As for Jefferson-Morgan, they will head out on the road to face off against the Pioneers at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully West Greene focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 27 on Friday.
