Basketball Recap: Palo Verde Skates Past Apache Junction with Ease

Palo Verde entered their tilt with Apache Junction on Tuesday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They claimed a resounding 69-21 victory over the Apache Junction Prospectors. Given the Titans' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 58th, while the Prospectors are ranked 202nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Julian Blackburne

Points

12/10/24 @ Apache Junction	22
12/05/24 vs The Gregory School	21
12/02/24 @ Tombstone	8
11/30/24 vs Tanque Verde	12

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Palo Verde to victory, but perhaps none more so than Julian Blackburne, who went 8 of 17 en route to 22 points and three steals. With that strong performance, Blackburne is now averaging an impressive 15.8 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Daniel Ortiz, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 12 points along with seven assists and four steals.

Palo Verde smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in eight consecutive matchups.

Despite the loss, Apache Junction still got an impressive performance from Omar Adam, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 12 points and six rebounds.

Palo Verde's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-1. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.3 points per game. As for Apache Junction, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-6.

Palo Verde didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 79-54 victory against Bourgade Catholic on the 12th. As for Apache Junction, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 42-28 win against ALA - Anthem South on the 13th.