Basketball Recap: Elmer Emerson's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Yuma over Cortez

If Yuma was feeling good fresh off their 86-27 takedown of Coronado last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Yuma Criminals fell just short of the Cortez Colts by a score of 77-74 on Wednesday. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Colts this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 76-64 back in January.

Elmer Emerson

Blocked Shots (Career)

02/12/25 @ Cortez	3
01/30/25 @ Gila Ridge	2
01/28/25 @ Desert Sunrise	2
11/20/24 @ Moon Valley	2
01/22/25 vs Cortez	1

Yuma's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Elmer Emerson, who shot 5-for-9 from long range and dropped a double-double with 25 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Emerson a new career-high in blocks (three). Another player making a difference was Andy Mosqueda, who dropped a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards.

Even though they lost, Yuma smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in four consecutive matchups.

It was another big night for Ulysses Espinoza, who went 9-for-21 on his way to 27 points along with six assists and five steals for Cortez. The team also got some help courtesy of Tylin Hunter, who posted eight points and seven rebounds.

Yuma's loss dropped their record down to 11-7. As for Cortez, their victory bumped their record up to 16-4.

Yuma wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, an 88-75 win against Kofa on the 13th. Cortez does not have any more games scheduled as of now.