Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 19 to 9 on the offensive boards, a fact the Walnut Mustangs proved on Thursday. They took down Wilson 54-36. Given Walnut's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 236th, while Wilson is ranked 644th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Myles Wainwright, who scored 24 points along with six rebounds. Those 24 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Nathan Yen, who scored 13 points.
Despite the loss, Wilson saw an underclassman step up: Justin Kayode scored 15 points along with five rebounds. Kayode scored a full 41.7% of Wilson's points, the 12th time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Ethan Shigamora was another key contributor, scoring six points.
Wilson struggled to work together and finished the game with only two assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Walnut's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-5. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 23.67 points. As for Wilson, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Walnut will be staying on the road on Monday to face off against Workman at 6:00 p.m. on December 18th. Workman is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games. As for Wilson, they will head out on the road to face off against Los Altos at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
