Basketball Recap: Aiden Patterson's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Desert Ridge over Higley

Desert Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss. They took a 74-64 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Higley Knights. While losing is never fun, the Jaguars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while the Knights are ranked 11th).

Aiden Patterson

Points

02/04/25 @ Higley	18
01/10/25 vs Gilbert	17
12/18/24 vs Skyline	16
12/03/24 @ Marana	16
01/07/25 @ Campo Verde	13
+ 14 more games

Several Jaguars players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Aiden Patterson, who went 6-for-10 to rack up 18 points and six rebounds. Patterson is becoming a predictor of Desert Ridge's success: when he posts at least 15 points the team is 3-1 (and 4-12 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Mangahas, who posted nine points.

Even though they lost, Desert Ridge was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2024.

Higley's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Noah Gloor led the charge by putting up 25 points and seven assists. The game was Gloor's sixth in a row with at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Gavin Dabney, who went 8-for-11 on his way to 18 points along with six boards and three steals.

Desert Ridge's defeat dropped their record down to 7-13. As for Higley, the win (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 17-4.

Desert Ridge didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 66-48 loss against Williams Field on the 7th. As for Higley, they have also already played their next contest, a 75-68 defeat against Campo Verde on the 5th.