Basketball Recap: Chinemerem Anyikwa Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Sylmar

On Friday, the Serra Cavaliers didn't have too much breathing room in their match against the Sylmar Spartans, but they still walked away with a 69-64 win. Given the Cavaliers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 497th, while the Spartans are ranked 1272nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Serra's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Chinemerem Anyikwa, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance gave Anyikwa a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Khary Wilder, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Serra was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Sylmar's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was David Rodriguez, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tim Tanner, who went 6 of 14 on his way to 15 points.

Serra has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. As for Sylmar, they are on a nine-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-8.

Serra won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Jordan at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for Sylmar, they will also get right back to it: they'll square off against Northridge Academy at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.