The Wildcats put together an impressive season that ended in the final four of the 1A State tournament on Saturday evening.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats began their tournament run on Tuesday night, with an 80-55 round one home-court romp over Dishchii’bikoh, who entered as the 12th overall seed.
Joseph City led 21-12 after the first quarter but poured in 30 points in the second to put the game out of reach. They added another 29 points in the second half to get to 80 points.
Eli James led with a stellar 30-point effort. Heston Miller added 12 and Jaimen Tsosie finished with 7.
That win propelled the Cats to the quarterfinal round where they outlasted fourth-seeded Anthem Prep at Agua Fria High School by a final of 55-50 to advance to the 1A state semifinals.
This game was close throughout. Joseph City led by 2 at the end of the first and extended that lead to 9 at the half. The Eagles trimmed 4 points off that lead in the third and both teams netted a dozen points in the final frame, leaving the Cats with the 5-point win.
Landon Miller led three Wildcat players in double figures with 21 points. James added 14, and Jaxon Arnell finished with 10.
In the final four match-up with top seeded Seligman, Joseph City was outdueled 67-46, bringing their season to a close.
James led with 14 points. Miller played his final game for the Wildcats with 12 points. Tsosie added 9; Trenton Deets, 3; Kase Fish, 3; Kregar Kinlicheenie, 3; and Coltran James ended with 2.
Joseph City ends their season with an impressive 27-7 overall record.
Top seed Seligman will face sixth seeded The Gregory School in the 1A state championship game on Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
