The Wildcats played five games at the Round Valley Roundball tournament held Thursday through Saturday last weekend. They earned two wins and took three losses in the three days. The Cats opened the tournament by splitting two pool games on Thursday. They fell to San Carlos 60-47 early Thursday morning. Bannon Johnstun led in scoring with 10 points, and Cort Miller added 8. Later that afternoon they topped Rock Point 64-48. Three Wildcats scored in double figures including Brent Bush and Mees Koopman each with 13. Johnstun added 11. Their first bracket game was an early morning match-up with Alchesay on Friday. The Falcons took care of the Wildcats 72-44. Joseph City struggled to have anyone score many points. Johnstun led the team with 8, and Blake Palmer had 7. That loss moved them to the consolation side of the bracket where they met up with rival Mogollon in the afternoon. The Cats handled the Mustangs 63-38 to advance to Saturday’s action. Johnstun led the way with 24 points. Joseph City’s final game of the tournament was a hard-fought three-point loss to the host team Round Valley. The Wildcats trailed by four at the end of one and by just a single point at the half. In the third, they surpassed the Elks and held a six-point lead going into the final eight minutes. In the fourth, Round Valley battled back overtaking them to win the game 44-41. Johnstun again led in scoring with 15 points. Bush counted for 11. Joseph City now sits at 6-6 overall and is 2-1 in regular season contests. With their two tournaments now in the books they have nothing left but power point contests for the rest of the season. They start that with a trip to St. Johns on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Mogollon on Wednesday. On Friday they will host Fort Thomas. That will be their final game before resuming their season on Jan. 4 when they host Veritas Prep.
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