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The Wildcats suffered a pair of setbacks last week with both losses coming on the road. Playing at Round Valley on Jan. 17, Joseph City hung tough through three periods and trailed by just three points going into the fourth quarter. As well as they played in the first three periods their defense gave up 20 points to the Elks in the final period of the 53-40 loss.
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Latrell Kinlicheenie finished with 17 points, with nine of those coming from the three-point line. Carlos Sanchez added 9; Seth Hutchens netted 8, with 11 boards; Talon Smith, 4; and Jay Edwards finished with 2.
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On Saturday the Wildcats were in Flagstaff at the Basis school taking on the Yeti. Joseph City trailed by five at the close of the first but pulled within a single point at the intermission. In the third, they moved in front by three points but in the final frame Basis was able to outscore them by six to earn the 47-44 win and hand the Wildcats their second setback of the week.
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Latrell Kinlicheenie again led Joseph City in scoring with 14 points. Hutchens added 11; Edwards, 8; KJ Kinlicheenie, 5; Sanchez, 5; and Talon Smith chipped in a single point.
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With the two losses the Wildcats saw their regular season mark dip to 8-6. They entered Saturday’s game ranked 12th in the 1A rankings and despite their loss to the Yeti they should remain inside the top 16. The Cats have four game left in the regular season beginning with Tuesday’s (Jan. 22) home match up with Williams. Their next two games will be against ninth ranked Mogollon in back-to-back contests. The first will be in Joseph City on Friday, with the second played in Heber on Monday. Joseph City’s final game will be on Feb. 1 when they host Grand Canyon.
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