Joseph City topped Williams on Tuesday night by a final of 57-55. The Cats withstood a 24-point outpouring by the Vikings in the final period, primarily by scoring 20 of their own in the stanza to secure the win.
The two squads ended the first period knotted at 10 each. Joseph City edged ahead in the second to lead by seven at the half. After Williams trimmed one point off that lead in the third, both teams scorched the nets in the final period for a combined 44 points.
Matt Fields led the Cats in scoring with 17 and also pulled down 10 boards. KJ Kinlicheenie added 11; Latrelle Kinlicheenie, 6; Carlos Sanchez, 5; Jacobson Begay, 4; Rance Haddox, 3; Seth Hutchens, 3; and Talon Smith, Jay Edwards and Kaden Moss each helped with 2.
With the win the Wildcats improved to 5-3 overall and they are now 2-1 in regular season games. Four games remain on their schedule prior to the Christmas break. After hosting St. Michael on Tuesday they will host Ash Fork on Friday. Saturday’s game will be a long trip to Grand Canyon. Next Tuesday they will play host to Cibecue.
Joseph City boys team will play in the Coyote Basketball Invitational held at Arizona Lutheran Academy beginning Dec. 28.
