Even though the Washington Eagles scored an imposing 55 points on Thursday, the Casa Grande Gauchos still came out on top. Casa Grande secured a 59-55 W over Washington. This was payback for Casa Grande, who suffered a 63-54 defeat the last time these two teams met.
Casa Grande got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Ryan Rice out in front who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. Those ten rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Andon Harris, who scored 12 points.
Despite the defeat, Washington had strong showings from Korey Abantao, who scored 27 points along with three steals, and Jaydon Chow, who scored 14 points along with five steals. The matchup was Abantao's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was James Nicholson, who scored six points.
Casa Grande's victory bumped their record up to 3-4. As for Washington, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-5.
Casa Grande won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Urban at 8:30 p.m. on December 15th. Washington won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Cardinal Newman at 5:30 p.m. on December 15th. Cardinal Newman presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Washington in California (Cardinal Newman is ranked 83rd, while Washington is ranked 814th).
