Basketball Recap: Jamari Cottingham's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Basic over Green Valley

Basic fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Green Valley on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 76-72 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Green Valley Gators. The Wolves were up 23-6 in the first quarter but couldn't hold on to the lead.

Basic lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being JaMari Cottingham, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 15 points along with eight rebounds and six assists. The dominant performance gave Cottingham a new career-high in assists. Kelani Stafford was another key player, putting up 12 points in addition to six assists and six boards.

Wolves

Previous 4 Games

01/27/25 vs Green Valley	72-76
01/23/25 vs Boulder City	51-56
01/22/25 @ Faith Lutheran	58-69
01/20/25 vs Sierra Vista	48-79

Even though they lost, Basic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 19 consecutive matchups.

Leading Green Valley to victory were Da?Quan Brown and Lamarcus Carter. Brown went 12 for 26 en route to 35 points and seven rebounds, while Carter almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin Santana, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 12 rebounds.

Basic dropped their record down to 9-12 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home. As for Green Valley, they have been performing well recently as they've won 12 of their last 15 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.

Basic will be playing in front of their home fans against Sunrise Mountain at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Basic is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 61.5 points per game this season. As for Green Valley, they will head out to take on Bonanza at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Green Valley's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four contests.