Basketball Recap: Desert Pines Comes Up Short

On Saturday, the Desert Pines Jaguars were within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 75-70 to the Pacifica Christian/Orange County Tritons. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Jaguars came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 23rd in Nevada, while the Tritons are ranked 90th in California).

Despite the defeat, Desert Pines saw an underclassman step up: freshman Aaron McMorran went 7 for 10 from beyond the arc on his way to 30 points and seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Prince Davis, who posted ten points and five assists.

Jaguars

Assists

12/28/23 vs Fairfax	25
11/27/23 @ Chaparral	20
11/29/23 vs Varsity Opponent	19
01/05/24 @ Spring Valley	17
01/12/24 @ Bishop Gorman	16

Even though they lost, Desert Pines was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.

EJ Spillman was his usual excellent self, going 9 of 14 on his way to 25 points in addition to six assists and five boards for Pacifica Christian/Orange County. The team also got some help courtesy of Owen Connell, who went 7 of 10 on his way to 18 points.

Desert Pines now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Pacifica Christian/Orange County, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season.

Desert Pines will face off against Mojave at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Mojave knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 14 matchups -- so hopefully Desert Pines likes a good challenge. As for Pacifica Christian/Orange County, they will square off against San Gabriel Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pacifica Christian/Orange County is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 61.4 points per game this season.