Preview: Monument Valley Cougars vs. Pinnacle Panthers
Monument Valley has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge the Pinnacle Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Utah (Monument Valley is ranked 137th, while the Panthers are ranked 130th).
Monument Valley pushed their score all the way to 58 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Whitehorse by a score of 60-58.
Monument Valley's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Joshua Hicks, who scored 22 points, and Braxton Goodshield who scored 18 points. Melias Cly was another key contributor, scoring seven points.
Even though Pinnacle has not done well against the Raiders recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Pinnacle managed a 51-47 win over the Raiders. The win was a breath of fresh air for Pinnacle as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Pinnacle's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Dominick Vigil led the charge by scoring ten points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Vigil has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Cole Barton, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Monument Valley's loss dropped their record down to 5-13. As for Pinnacle, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
Monument Valley didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against the Panthers in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 72-67 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Barton, who dropped a double-double on 37 points and 11 rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Monument Valley still be able to contain Barton? There's only one way to find out.
