By Greg Perkins The Joseph City Wildcats prepared for their January schedule with two days of action at the St. Johns Tournament last weekend. Friday saw the Wildcats drop two games by large margins. Saturday’s games were much closer, with the Cats earning a split and nearly winning both. On Friday the Cats matched up with Round Valley and came out on the wrong end of a 78-29 final score. Koby Smith led the Joseph City offense with 15 points and Tristan Richard added 7. The second game of the day was similar, although the Cats did score more points in a 77-47 loss to Valley Lutheran. They started well enough, trailing just 26-23 at the end of the first period, but over the final three quarters the game belonged to the Flames. Richard led the way with 14 points. Smith added 13 and Daniel Tigert had 8. Joseph City met up with San Luis on Saturday and nearly pulled off a come from behind victory. The Wildcats trailed by eight points at the beginning of the final period, but trimmed seven of them away before falling to the Sidewinders 46-47. Smith was the Cats’ top scorer with 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Matt Fields added 13 points. Their final game of the tournament was a matchup with rival Mogollon. These two teams will meet later this week, but this time around Joseph City held the upper hand, posting a 60-43 win. The Cats jumped on top of the Mustangs 24-11 in the first period and were never threatened the rest of the way. Richard led the way with 16 points and eight boards. Smith netted 15 and pulled down 14 rebounds. Fields chipped in 12 points. Joseph City is now 7-7 overall and headed into this week ranked 17th in power points. After playing at Grand Canyon on Tuesday, the Cats will host the Mogollon Mustangs on Thursday, Jan. 7. On Tuesday, Jan. 12, they will host Many Farms.