Basketball Recap: Payson Takes a Loss

Payson was the 64-58 winner over Florence when they last played one another back in December of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Payson Longhorns fell 62-55 to the Florence Gophers on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Longhorns can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 178th, while the Gophers are ranked 41st).

When it comes to explaining why Payson lost, don't look at Aldan Parsons. Despite the final result, he went 8 of 12 en route to 22 points. Those 22 points gave Parsons a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Dane White, who posted six points and 11 rebounds.

Even though they lost, Payson smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.

Leading Florence to victory were Logan Stenson and Brody Ramirez. Stenson dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds, while Ramirez dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. The contest was Ramirez's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Darren Swain, who put up seven points and four steals.

Payson now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Florence, the victory keeps them at an undefeated 5-0.

Payson will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Walden Grove at 10:00 a.m. on January 3, 2025. As for Florence, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 46-39 win against Blue Ridge on the 20th.