After his team’s 51-35 victory over rival Mingus Union High School, Head Coach Darren Gagnon said this was the best the Cowboys had played this season.
“We executed our offense. Ran it to a T. In the beginning we got a little lucky and that propelled us in this game,” Gagnon said on the court Friday, Dec. 17.
The Camp Verde High School boys basketball team hit its first four shots to take an 8-0 lead while the Marauders couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
Mingus made only five field goals in the first three quarters of play Friday and Camp Verde took advantage.
The Cowboys led 13-7 at the end of one and were up 28-13 at halftime.
Junior forward Jake Spleiss led all scores with 11 points while senior guard Trey Cooper had eight, helping the Cowboys put away one of two Verde Valley rivals.
“Every kid contributed. I was impressed with our mental focus and with us putting the ball in the hole. It was tough for Mingus to get back in it,” Gagnon said.
Camp Verde outscored Mingus again in the third quarter, 13-6, to take a 41-19 lead. The Marauders made it interesting in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cowboys 16-10, but in the end, Camp Verde came away with a win, 51-35.
Others chipping in for Camp Verde included junior point guard Andres Orellana who scored six points while junior Johnny Hudson and senior Shaq Watahomigie each had six.
For Mingus, the loss drops the Marauders to 1-6 [0-0, 4A-II Grand Canyon] overall this season while the win for Camp Verde improves its record to 4-6 on the year.
Camp Verde is 2-2 in Arizona Interscholastic Association power point games while Mingus is 0-4.
The Cowboys sit at No. 30 in the AIA power point polls, which were released Monday, Dec. 20.
Gagnon and his group of boys will take this week to prepare for the Bradshaw Mountain Invitational which is scheduled to begin Monday, Dec. 27.
“We’ll practice this week and take some time off for Christmas but we’re all excited about the tournament. There should be some good teams there that will give us a tough test,” Gagnon said.
Camp Verde’s first two opponents Monday at Bradshaw Mountain High School were unknown at press time, but the tournament is scheduled to run through Wednesday, Dec. 29.
