Like a long, slow drive through Kansas, the Camp Verde Cowboys boys basketball team’s early-season has been filled with a few bumps, a couple of potholes and few highlights.
But the Cowboys finally came upon their “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” as they pulled away for a 65-43 victory, their first of the season, over the Chino Valley Cougars in their final game before the winter holiday break.
The Cowboys led throughout the contest, but the outcome remained in doubt before a scoring outburst by sophomore point guard Javier Perez midway through the third quarter started a 33-15 run that lasted to the end of the game.
The scoring run actually began with a post-up jump shot by senior Marlon Ontiveros when the Cowboys were clinging to a 32-26 lead, but from there, Perez worked his magic, scoring 12-straight points on a pair of “Did you see that?” drives to the basket, a 15-foot jump shot and two 3-point shots.
“It was pretty close and he just took over — had those two huge threes for us and got a layup going to the rim,” said Cowboys boys basketball head coach Dan Wall. “After that, we started getting some steals off of pressure, but that was a game-changer right there — real important for us.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Dec. 25, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
