Basketball Recap: Emilio Valle Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat ALA - Gilbert North

You're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Ironwood Ridge on Thursday. They put the hurt on the ALA - Gilbert North Eagles with a sharp 67-44 win. This was payback for the Nighthawks, who suffered a 79-56 loss the last time these two teams met.

Ironwood Ridge's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Emilio Valle led the charge by shooting 59% from the field en route to 22 points and four steals. The matchup was Valle's third in a row with at least 18 points. Dalton Yarmolovich was another key player, going 8-for-10 on his way to 18 points in addition to seven boards and three steals.

Nighthawks

Assists

12/11/25 vs ALA - Gilbert North	15
12/05/25 @ Rio Rico	11
12/02/25 @ Eastmark	11
11/29/25 vs Eastmark	6
11/28/25 vs West Point	11
+ 13 more games

Ironwood Ridge was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January.

The victory got Ironwood Ridge back to even at 4-4. As for ALA - Gilbert North, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.

Coming up, Ironwood Ridge will head out on the road to take on Flowing Wells at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for ALA - Gilbert North, they will be home for the holidays to greet Paradise Honors at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Panthers will roll in looking for their fourth straight win, something the Eagles surely won't give up without a fight.