Basketball Recap: Desert Pines Takes a Loss

Desert Pines played a tough contest on Wednesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 77-56 to the Mojave Rattlers. While losing is never fun, the Jaguars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nevada basketball rankings (they are ranked 26th, while the Rattlers are ranked fourth).

Despite the loss, Desert Pines saw an underclassman step up: freshman Aaron McMorran went 10 of 19 on his way to 21 points and six rebounds. That was a full 37.5% of Desert Pines' points, marking the third time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Merto, who had ten points.

C.J. Shaw was his usual excellent self, putting up 28 points for Mojave. The game was Shaw's eighth in a row with at least ten points. Zacarrion Jackson was another key player, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Desert Pines dropped their record down to 4-6 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.0 points per game. As for Mojave, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 10-5.

Desert Pines will square off against Spring Valley at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Desert Pines knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past ten matches -- so hopefully Spring Valley likes a good challenge. As for Mojave, they will face off against Las Vegas at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Mojave knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 15 contests -- so hopefully Las Vegas likes a good challenge.