Joseph City picked up two wins against one loss to open January, cruising past Fredonia last Saturday after edging Ash Fork on Thursday. Tuesday’s game with Northland Prep didn’t go as well as the Wildcats suffered a 58-52 setback.
The Wildcat defense got the job done against Fredonia on Saturday, coming away with a 47-20 win. Koby Smith led the team in scoring with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Matt Fields also played well, scoring 11 with 10 boards. Landon Baldwin and Hayden Hendricks scored 4 points each; Troy Poudrier, 3; Aaron Johnstun and Bryson Palmer, 2 each; and Sam Johnstun, 1.
On Thursday Smith again led the way for the Cats, scoring 31 points in their 48-47 road win at Ash Fork. Joseph City led by eight after the first period, but gave all but one of those points back in the second. The Cats moved out to a three-point lead in the third, then held on for the one-point victory in the final period. Smith also pulled down 12 rebounds as did Fields, who scored 12 points. Hendricks finished with 5 points.
Through the first week of the month the Wildcats moved their season mark to 6-13. They will need to string together several wins in the next few weeks in order to reach the post-season in Division IV. After hosting Mogollon on Tuesday, they will play at Hayden on Friday, Jan. 16, then travel to El Capitan the following day. On Tuesday, Jan. 20, they will host Cibecue.
