The Camp Verde High School boys basketball team rounded out its season in front of its home crowd on senior night, but could not come away with a victory against Northland Preparatory Academy, falling 59-46 on Friday, Feb. 3.
Cowboys [6-21, 1-7 2A Central] seniors Ryan Cain, Reyes Herrera, Aaron Tracy and Drake Smith were honored before tipping off their final home game in white and blue.
“It was definitely a game of few surprises,” Camp Verde head coach Dan Wall said. “Just because of how well we know each from this year.”
It was the third time the two teams faced off this season. The Cowboys fell to the Spartans on Dec. 30 in the championship of the Yvonne Johnson Memorial Shoot-Out by a score of 58-48, and again lost 53-37 on Jan. 17 during the first round of league play.
Wall said that his team did a good job on the defensive side of the ball to keep things competitive for most of the game.
It was not until the end of the third quarter when Northland Prep’s offense found a groove and broke off a run that gave it a substantial lead.
“We kept it close until late in the third quarter, then they went on a run on us,” Wall said. “We were down 13 [points] and trading shots and buckets in the fourth quarter. There was a lot of good, hard effort.”
The Spartans ran a pick and roll offense with quality perimeter shooters, and Wall said that his team did a solid job forcing them into taking tough shots, which allowed Camp Verde to stay in the game. Nevertheless, he credited the Spartans for hitting tough shots as well.
“I’d say our effort kept us really close,” Wall said.
Wall pointed out the defensive play of Herrera, who he said was able to effectively limit the Spartans’ key perimeter players, as well as Tracy, who played well on both ends and finished with 19 points.
Wall credited Smith for his defensive play and freshman guard Abe Gonzalez for having a solid game, too.
Its shooting woes, which have been a thorn in its side throughout the season, once again proved to be troublesome.
“It was a matter of knowing what we were doing offensively, and executing or not,” Wall said. “The shots weren’t going down.”
Next season, the Cowboys will return eight of its 12 players, including junior forward Ryan Loza and Gonzalez, both starters.
