Joseph City entered the 1A state playoffs in the play-in round on Thursday as the No. 5 overall seed. As the higher seed, they played host to No. 20 Maryvale Prep.
The Wildcats certainly played like the higher seed, as they easily advanced to the 1A state bracket with a 90-60 win over the Matadors.
Now in the bracket, they will host Dishchii’bikoh (Cibecue) on Tuesday night. The 12th-seeded Wildcats will take on their fifth-ranked namesake.
Dishchii’bikoh advanced past the play-in round with a 43-37 home-court win over Bagdad.
Joseph City faced the Cibecue team on their home turf in the first game of the season, which was a 68-59 win. With this game played in Joseph City, look for the Wildcats to advance in the bracket where they will take on fourth-seeded Anthem Prep who earned a bye in the first round. That game will be played at Agua Fria High School on Friday. If Joseph City can advance to the 1A Final Four it would be played at Millennium High School on Saturday. The 1A State championship game will be at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
