Basketball Recap: Murrieta Mesa Falls Despite Big Games from Luke Siefkin and Andrei Aguilera

Murrieta Mesa suffered their closest loss since January 5, 2024 on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Chaparral Pumas by a score of 56-54. The Rams were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Pumas apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in January of 2024.

Despite the loss, Murrieta Mesa had strong showings from Andrei Aguilera, who went 7 of 11 en route to 15 points and seven rebounds, and Luke Siefkin, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 13 points and six rebounds. Those seven rebounds gave Aguilera a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ray Riley, who posted ten points and three steals.

Murrieta Mesa dropped their record down to 7-12 with the defeat, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Chaparral, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season.

Murrieta Mesa and Chaparral could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps California Rankings. Murrieta Mesa (ranked 621st) will meet Murrieta Valley (ranked 157th) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Chaparral (ranked 369th) will meet Temecula Valley (ranked 133rd) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.