Ash Fork is 0-10 against Joseph City since January of 2019 but things could change on Tuesday. The Ash Fork Spartans will challenge the Joseph City Wildcats at 7:00 p.m.
Last Thursday, Ash Fork lost to Williams at home by a 63-44 margin. The Spartans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Ash Fork might have lost, but man, Josue Tellez was a machine: he went 8 for 19 en route to 20 points and eight boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jhovanny Vazquez, who posted six points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Joseph City). They took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging an 89-44 victory over Grand Canyon. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Joseph City's win came from a few key players Ash Fork will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cort Miller, who went 6 of 8 from beyond the arc on his way to 20 points along with seven steals and five assists. He has been hot, having posted three or more steals the last five times he's played. Eli James was another key player, going 11 for 18 en route to 23 points.
Joseph City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 11 consecutive games.
Joseph City is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.7 points per game. As for Ash Fork, their loss dropped their record down to 5-13.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ash Fork has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Joseph City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Ash Fork suffered a grim 60-34 defeat to Joseph City in their previous meeting on January 3rd. Can Ash Fork avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
