Playing in the White Mountain Holiday Hoops Tournament Jan. 1-3 at Blue Ridge High School in Lakeside, the Joseph City Wildcats struggled to a 1-5 mark, although two of those five losses were close decisions.
Joseph City fell to Maricopa 74-38 and to Ganado 56-39 on Thursday. Friday’s outcomes were the same, although the games were much closer. The Cats fell to Wilcox 52-49, then came up six points short against Greyhills in a 73-67 loss. On Saturday Payson handled the Wildcats easily with a 68-32 win, but Joseph City showed resolve in its final game, fighting back to beat Ash Fork 57-55.
The Wildcats head into the second half of the season with an overall mark of 4-12 including a 1-5 record in power point games. If they want to reach the post-season they have a ton of work to do in January to climb up the rankings, where they were ranked 51st heading into this week.
After hosting Northland Prep on Tuesday, the Cats will travel to Ash Fork on Thursday, Jan. 8, then hit the road again on Saturday, Jan. 10, for a game at Fredonia. On Tuesday, Jan. 13, they will host Mogollon.
