After visiting Bonney Lake Jan. 18 and enjoying a 56-32 rout in South Puget Sound League 3A boys basketball action, Enumclaw High endured a punishing defeat of their own, 70-38, to league-leading Lakes Friday.

The defeat dropped Enumclaw’s SPSL 3A mark to 2-3 and 4-11 overall as it was also schooled 74-45 by a SPSL 4A Auburn during the Martin Luther King Day Comcast Showcase Jan. 17.

Forward D.J. Hitch, who is currently fourth in the SPSL 3A in scoring at 15 points per game, was EHS’s offensive leader against Auburn with 12 points. A night later he accounted for a game-high 24 points against Bonney Lake.

In that rendezvous, EHS bolted to a 31-16 halftime advantage and played stellar, second-half defense, outscoring the Panthers 25-16 in the third and fourth frames to sail to an easy victory.

As the regular season winds down, the Hornets could be in jeopardy of not reaching the playoffs for the first time in half a decade if they don’t win at least half of their final four regular season games.