It'll be Battle of the Birds when the Yucaipa Thunderbirds take on the Arroyo Valley Hawks at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday... Yucaipa knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past four matchups -- so hopefully Arroyo Valley likes a good challenge.
Yucaipa is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Victor Valley: they outscored them in every quarter. Yucaipa blew past Victor Valley 72-52 on Friday. Given the Thunderbirds' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 249th, while the Jackrabbits are ranked 795th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 12/20/24 vs Victor Valley | 22 |
| 12/19/24 vs Citrus Valley | 16 |
| 12/16/24 vs Summit | 15 |
| 12/13/24 @ Diamond Bar | 19 |
It was another big night for Jaxon Lerma, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 boards. The game was his fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Malik Young, who went 6 of 9 on his way to 19 points and eight assists.
Meanwhile, Arroyo Valley took a blow against Serrano on Wednesday, falling 63-35. The loss continues a trend for the Hawks in their matchups with the Diamondbacks: they've now lost three in a row.
Yucaipa's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.3 points per game. As for Arroyo Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-9.
Everything came up roses for Yucaipa against Arroyo Valley in their previous matchup back in November of 2021, as the squad secured a 66-14 victory. In that matchup, Yucaipa amassed a halftime lead of 36-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
