The San Jacinto Tigers were the 58-54 winner over the West Valley Mustangs when they last played one another on January 9th, but their luck changed this time around. San Jacinto took a 64-57 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Mustangs on Thursday. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (55), San Jacinto still had to take the loss.
San Jacinto's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Omar Garcia, who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine rebounds. It was the first time this season that Garcia scored 15 or more points. Stephen Castleberry was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with eight assists and five rebounds.
Leading West Valley to victory were Makaio Black and Elijah Alexander. Black dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Alexander scored 21 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Alexander hasn't dropped below three steals for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Josh Ramirez, who scored nine points.
This is the second loss in a row for San Jacinto and nudges their season record down to 10-10. As for West Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 9-14.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. San Jacinto will take on the Hawks at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. As for West Valley, they will be playing at home against the Panthers at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday.
