The Lytle Pirates pushed their score all the way to 62 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 72-62 to Crystal City. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game last Tuesday (55), Lytle still had to take the loss.
Lytle's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zacharee Perez, who scored 21 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. Perez hasn't dropped below two steals for nine straight games. Another player making a difference was Seth Pierce, who scored 21 points along with eight rebounds.
Lytle struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Crystal City racked up 23 assists.
Crystal City got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Dakota Rivera out in front who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Rivera scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Christopher Mena, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Lytle's defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 19-6. As for Crystal City, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 14 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-11 record this season.
Lytle will head out on the road to challenge Natalia at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Natalia knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past three matches -- so hopefully Lytle likes a good challenge. As for Crystal City, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Dilley at 7:30 p.m. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Dilley has struggled recently with five defeats in a row, while Crystal City will arrive with four straight wins.
