The Buena Bulldogs pushed their score all the way to 62 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They received a tough blow as they fell 76-62 to Chaminade. While losing is never fun, Buena can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 450th, while Chaminade is ranked 79th).
When it comes to explaining why Buena lost, one person who can't be blamed is Luke Ortiz. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 28 points and 12 rebounds. Ortiz scored a full 45.2% of Buena's points, the fifth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh ullegue, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds.
Chaminade was led to victory by Jonas Thurman and Bryce Goldman. Thurman scored 27 points along with five rebounds, while Goldman scored 37 points along with six rebounds. The matchup was Goldman's 16th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Chris Cordero, who scored eight points.
Buena has been struggling recently, as they've lost nine of their last ten games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-9 record this season. As for Chaminade, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-3.
Buena will be home for the holidays to greet Camarillo at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Camarillo is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games. Chaminade and St. Louis will round out the year against one another at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday at. St. Louis is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road.
