The Esperanza Aztecs will stay at home for another game and welcome the El Dorado Golden Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on January 19th. Esperanza has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last six games.
Last Tuesday, Esperanza was able to grind out a solid win over Brea Olinda, taking the game 60-47.
Esperanza found their leader in underclassman Alex Van otterloo, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 11 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Van otterloo has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Stephan Esparza, who scored 17 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, El Dorado beat El Modena 61-50 on Tuesday. Given El Dorado's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 291st, while El Modena is ranked 647th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
El Dorado's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Noah Barker led the charge by scoring 17 points along with eight rebounds. Andrew Salvador was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with three blocks and two steals.
Esperanza's win bumped their record up to 9-14. As for El Dorado, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 14-9.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a blowout: Esperanza hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 57.1 points per game. However, it's not like El Dorado struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 57.2 points per game. The only thing between Esperanza and another offensive beatdown is El Dorado. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Esperanza beat El Dorado 64-53 in their previous meeting back in January of 2023. Does Esperanza have another victory up their sleeve, or will El Dorado turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
