The Wildcats wrapped up a busy week on the hardwood with six games played including five at the Roundball tournament over the weekend. They opened the week on the road at rival Mogollon for a regular season tilt.
Mogollon took the first of two scheduled meetings between the schools with a 66-51 win. Eli James led the way for the Cats with a 14-point effort. Cort Miller and Heston Miller each added 10; Jaimen Tsosie netted 8; Trenton Deets, 4l; Kase Fish, 3; and Jaxon Arnell added 2.
The team played five games over three days at the Round Valley tournament, beginning with a pair of pool games on Thursday, the first of which was a match up with Alchesay.
The game with the 3A Falcons was close with Joseph City holding a 42-38 lead going into the final eight minutes. Alchesay overtook them by 11 in the fourth securing the 7-point win.
Eli James, as he has done all season, led the charge with 24 points and 10 boards. Cort Miller netted 15, and Fish helped with 7.
The second pool play of the day was another close loss to a large school. Monument Valley outscored the Wildcats by 10 in the second quarter to win the game 50-44. Joseph City won three of the four quarters, just not enough to make up the deficit from the second period difference.
Eli James had another big game with 16 points and pulled down 17 rebounds. Cort Miller added 14, and Coltran James helped with 9.
Their first bracket game on Friday was with the host school Round Valley. This time a strong first quarter led to a 59-51 Wildcat win. Cort Miller took over the scoring duties for the Wildcats, finishing with 26 points on 10 of 19 shooting. Arnell added 9; Tsosie, 7; Deets, 4; and Heston Miller added 4 in the win.
That win moved the Wildcats into the quarterfinal round where they met up with a physical Morenci team. The Morenci Wildcats led by 4 after one, then extended that margin to 7 at the half. Their lead gradually grew in the second half to the eventual final score of 55-41.
Cort Miller, and Tsosie each had 10 points. Eli James added 7; Fish and Arnell both had 5.
That loss dropped the Cats down in the bracket where they faced Alchesay for the right to play for third and fourth. Their first meeting on Thursday was close, however, this time Alchesay came out hot early, netting 20 points in the first eight minutes and never really looked back in a 63-44 Falcon win.
Eli James returned to the top of the Wildcat scoring with 20 points. Tsosie added 12; Coltran James, 4; Cort Miller, 3; and King Robinson added 3 in the loss.
The Wildcats will return to the court this week with two final games before taking time off for the Holiday break. After hosting Cibecue on Monday, they will welcome in Hopi on Tuesday this week.
They entered this week with an overall record of 9-6. They are 7-4 overall.
