The Joseph City Wildcats’ return to the court following the Christmas break resulted in a split between good and bad.

Last Thursday the Cats defeated the Yeti from Basis school in Flagstaff, 55-38. Joseph City led by three after the first period, but a strong second quarter gave them a comfortable halftime lead. They parlayed that into their first win of the new year and their ninth of the season.

Matt Fields resumed where he left off prior to the break, finishing with 21 points. Latrelle Kinlicheenie and Aaron Johnstun scored 7 each; Troy Poudrier, 6; Bryndon Buckley, 5; and Seth Hutchens, KJ Kinlicheenie and Carlos Sanchez, 3 each.

On Saturday, the Wildcats suffered their first setback of the new year with a 70-63 road loss at St. Johns. In the loss Fields netted 21 points, KJ Kinlicheenie, 13, and Johnstun, 12.

The Wildcats headed into this week ranked 15th in the 1A power rankings. After playing at Mayer on Tuesday, they will host rival Mogollon on Friday, Jan. 13, then travel to Grand Canyon the next day. With last week’s split the Wildcats have evened their season mark at 9-9.