CVHS troubled by pressure, lose

Despite a stable start to the first quarter, the pressure brought on by Verde Valley rival Sedona Red Rock High School was too much for Camp Verde High School’s boys basketball team in a 69-51 road defeat on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

The Cowboys [4-7, 0-3 Central Region] struggled to create quality looks at the offensive end on a consistent basis against the No. 15-ranked Scorpions [6-2, 2-1].

“They pressured us pretty well, and I didn’t feel like we handled it extremely well. We maybe handled it twice in a row decently and did something,” Camp Verde head coach Dan Wall said. “Then we’d dribble into trouble, or we pass to the corner, things that we know probably not to do against a press, but we weren’t thinking clearly. They did a good job taking us out of our rhythm.”

Camp Verde started on the front foot, leading 12-9 minutes into the first. But, early foul trouble came back to bite the Cowboys, as Red Rock found itself in the bonus just over six minutes in.

Four consecutive free throws flipped the scoreboard in favor of Red Rock at 13-12, and Camp Verde never recovered. After the first, it trailed 19-12.

With a relatively young and inexperienced team, it was also another lesson learned.

“After those quick hand check calls, which by the rule that is a foul, we’ve got to adjust. We kind of got tentative defensively and then started giving up dribble penetration — we fouled some more, gave up free throws and they start getting threes,” Wall said.

At the beginning of the second both teams matched one another shot for shot, but a transition layup off of a turnover increased the deficit to 10, forcing a Cowboys timeout with 4:46 left. The Scorpions kept the defensive pressure on with a full-court press and trap, and the deficit continued to widen throughout the game.

Their defense generated its offense, pouring in 33 points to the Cowboys’ 14 during the second, and heading into the locker room the visitors trailed 42-26.

“We were hanging for a bit, and then they put the press on, and I feel like we didn’t do a great job handling the pressure,” Wall said. “That definitely gave them some nice opportunities. They did a nice job in their press, they did a good job with it and we’ve got to work at getting better about handling it.”

Camp Verde’s offense was further limited in the third, scoring just seven points to Red Rocks’ 17, which included a three-quarter-court basket at the buzzer.

The Cowboys traveled to No. 3-ranked Paradise Honors High School on Friday, Jan. 12, falling 84-47. They continued to seek their first region win on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at home against third place Northland Preparatory Academy, but results were unavailable at press time.

Note: Region standings were update online on Wednesday, Jan. 17, to include results after press time.