The Wildcats had a busy week with seven games packed into five days. Their week opened on Tuesday the 5th with a road trip to Hayden to play against the Lobos, where they dropped a 5-point decision. The game was close throughout with a tie score at the end of the first period and the half. The Lobos edged in front by 1 point after three quarters. In the fourth, they outlasted the Wildcats by 4 points and eventually won the game 41-36.
Jared Layden led the Cats with 10 points. Landon Miller added 9, Eli James and Cort Miller both had 6. Brent Bush chipped in with 2 as did Cole Moss. Cody Nockideneh helped out with a single point in the loss.
On Thursday, Joseph City joined many area teams in the three-day Round Valley Round Ball Tournament held in Springerville. The Cats faced Blue Ridge and St. Michael in pool play on Thursday. The Blue Ridge match-up did not go well for Joseph City as they were handled 69-28 by the Yellowjackets. The 3A Jackets jumped on top 23-2 in the first eight minutes and never looked back. Joseph City was led in scoring by Eli James’ 6-point effort. Moss and Cort Miller each added 5.
Later on Thursday, their second pool game had a better outcome, with Joseph City prevailing 53-35 over the Cardinals of St. Michaels. They built a 5-point lead after one and led by 4 at that half. The fourth period was the deciding factor, where Joseph City outscored their opponent by 15 to win the game. Landon Miller led the way with 12 points and Cort Miller added 10.
Joseph City opened bracket play on Friday morning with a tough loss to host Round Valley. The Elks were big and physical and muscled their way to a 62-39 win over the Cats. Layden led the way for Joseph City with 15 points. James added 7 in the loss.
With that loss, they moved left in the bracket where they met up with Alchesay. Joseph City played in the first and fourth quarters and overcame a strong third period to defeat the Falcons, 53-46. Landon Miller scored in double figures with 16. James netted 11 in the win over the 3A Falcons.
Joseph City’s third game of the day was a 45-36 win over Valley Sanders on Friday night. The Wildcats and Pirates were tied at 23-23 at the half. Joseph City eeked out a 3-point lead after three quarters, then outscored Valley by 6 over the final eight minutes to win the game, and advance to the consolation championship on Saturday afternoon. There they met up with Camp Verde.
The Cowboys trailed a well-playing Wildcat group after the first quarter by 11 points. They chipped away at that lead in both the second and third periods, eventually tying the game at 33 apiece going into the final stanza. Both teams played well in the fourth, but Joseph City managed 2 more points over the final eight minutes to win the game and the consolation trophy 50-48.
With their overall season record now at 10-4 and their two in-season tournaments behind them, the Wildcats can now focus on regular-season power-point contests the rest of the way. Their first outing will be on Tuesday when they host St. Johns. The following day they welcome in Mogollon. Joseph City will wrap up a three-game week on Friday with a trip to Fort Thomas.
Joseph City is 3-1 in regular season contests heading into this week’s action.
