Basketball Recap: Friday's Win Is West Valley's Third in Last Four Outings

Redlands East Valley came into Friday's game looking for another win against West Valley, but Malachi Black wouldn't allow it. The West Valley Mustangs secured a 69-63 W over the Redlands East Valley Wildcats on Friday thanks in part to Black, who went 10 of 21 on his way to 27 points in addition to seven steals and six boards. The contest was his eighth in a row with at least ten points.

Several Wildcats players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Dariel Bahamontes, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 17 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Bahamontes a new career-high in blocks (five). Another player making a difference was Demaj Moore, who posted 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and three blocks.

West Valley has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.3 points per game. As for Redlands East Valley, they moved to 8-6 with that loss, which also ended their three-game winning streak.

West Valley will take on Grand Terrace in a tournament on Thursday. West Valley knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past four games -- so hopefully Grand Terrace likes a good challenge. As for Redlands East Valley, they will be taking part in a tournament against Alta Loma at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Alta Loma will roll in looking for their fourth straight victory, something Redlands East Valley surely won't give up without a fight.