The Irvine Vaqueros lost against the Sage Hill Lightning back in January of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Monday. Irvine fell to Sage Hill 50-44.
When it comes to explaining why Irvine lost, one person who can't be blamed is Cooper Stearns. Despite the final result, he shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double on 30 points and 12 rebounds. Stearns scored a full 68.2% of Irvine's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Finn Hoffman, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds.
Irvine now has a losing record at 9-10. As for Sage Hill, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-11.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Irvine will take on University at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. University has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 982 points over their last 14 contests. As for Sage Hill, they will be playing at home against Portola at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.