Basketball Recap: Caden Hooper's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Willcox over Sahuarita

After flying high against Catalina last Tuesday, Willcox came back down to earth. The Willcox Cowboys took a 56-52 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Sahuarita Mustangs. The match was a 16-16 toss-up at halftime, but the Cowboys couldn't quite close it out.

Willcox's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Caden Hooper, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 14 rebounds. That's the most boards Hooper has posted since back in November of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of JD Whetten, who posted 11 points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Willcox was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Sahuarita to victory, but perhaps none more so than Gabe Epling, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 13 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ruben Villalba, who went 6 of 14 on his way to 14 points.

Willcox's defeat dropped their record down to 4-3. As for Sahuarita, with the win, they broke their 18-game losing streak and moved their record to 1-6.

Willcox wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 42-38 victory against Bisbee on the 6th. As for Sahuarita, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 74-58 loss against Cactus Shadows on the 7th.