Prep Basketball: Miller's 24 points leads Oak Hills past Hesperia for second time this season
After defeating Hesperia by two points earlier in this month, the Oak Hills boys basketball team wanted to send a message on Friday night.
The Bulldogs did just that with a 69-57 victory in front of their home crowd.
Oak Hills snapped Hesperia’s 64-game Mojave River League winning streak in the first matchup between these two teams at Hesperia. That was not enough for the Bulldogs because of the significance of the rivalry between the two programs.
“It’s been a minute since the Oak Hills program has done it (beaten Hesperia twice),” Oak Hills senior Michael Miller said. “That was the goal coming into high school, even back in middle school I wanted to beat Hesperia because I knew the streak was very long and I am just happy that we did it.”
Oak Hills has not beaten Hesperia twice in one season since the 2013-14 season.
Miller was the most impactful player on both sides of the court in the game. The senior finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“Michael knows every game that he has a target on his back,” Oak Hills head coach Robert Alexander said. “He’s so special. If his outside shot isn’t falling then he finds a way to get to the hole, finds a way to get to the free-throw line, finds a way to play great defense and rebound. He is a special kid and he loves the game.”
Oak Hills controlled the pace the entire game and did not trail once to Hesperia.
The Scorpions struggled to score early as halfway through the first quarter, the Scorpions called a timeout with a 5-0 deficit. By the time the quarter ended, Hesperia trailed 16-7.
Hesperia went to a smaller lineup and was able to hang close with the Bulldogs in the second quarter. The Scorpions were able to cut Oak Hills’ lead to six points at halftime, in large part due to junior point guard Jordan Malveaux. He came off the bench and produced most of the offense for the Scorpions, finishing with 23 points, four assists and two rebounds.
Oak Hills jumped out to as high as a 16-point lead in the third quarter following a deep contested three from Miller. Hesperia was able to cut the deficit some after a timeout and headed into the fourth quarter with an 11-point deficit.
The closest Hesperia got in the fourth quarter was eight points. The Bulldogs were able to thwart any potential runs by Hesperia late to emerge with the 12-point victory.
Oak Hills moves to 6-0 in MRL play and likely locks up the division title with the win over Hesperia.
“We’re just trying to play the team we're scheduled to play. Our boys know it is one game at a time and we’re having a phenomenal year and Hesperia was at our house and we had to step up and beat them,” Alexander said. “Now we play in less than 12 hours. We play at 9:30 against Rancho Verde. So it is literally one game at a time. We have to rest quick, hydrate and get ready to go.”
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Prep Basketball: Miller's 24 points leads Oak Hills past Hesperia for second time this season
