Vasquez and The Palmdale Aerospace Academy are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Vasquez Mustangs just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face The Palmdale Aerospace Academy Griffins at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Vasquez knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven games -- so hopefully The Palmdale Aerospace Academy likes a good challenge.
On Wednesday, Vasquez beat St. Monica Academy 74-62. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 433rd, while the Crusaders are ranked 1028th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Vasquez's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Daeron Bankett, who went 6 for 11 en route to 17 points. Noah Rowley was another key player, putting up 15 points and three steals.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask The Palmdale Aerospace Academy). They blew past Lancaster Baptist 82-25 on Tuesday. The Griffins have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 20 points or more this season.
Vasquez better focus on containing Thomas Carrillo and Johnathan Wogu as the pair were huge in The Palmdale Aerospace Academy's win. Carrillo went 6 of 8 on his way to 15 points along with five assists and four steals, while Wogu went 8 for 12 en route to 18 points and four steals. That's the most points Carrillo has posted since back in November of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Tobi Akinsete, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 10 points and six steals.
The Palmdale Aerospace Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in four consecutive contests.
Vasquez's win bumped their record up to 15-5. As for The Palmdale Aerospace Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 13-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Vasquez has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.5 boards per game. However, it's not like The Palmdale Aerospace Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Vasquez couldn't quite finish off The Palmdale Aerospace Academy in their previous meeting back in December of 2024 and fell 79-77. Can Vasquez avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
