Basketball Game Preview: Escalante Moquis vs. Monticello Buckaroo

The Escalante Moquis will head out to challenge the Monticello Buckaroo at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Escalante will be strutting in after a victory while Monticello will be coming in after a loss.

Escalante is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Monument Valley 89-50 on Friday. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 51-25.

Escalante's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jaxen Cottam, who went 11 of 18 on his way to 25 points along with five rebounds and three steals. That's the most points Cottam has posted since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Rayce Jenkins, who went 8 for 10 en route to 16 points and seven boards.

Escalante was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Monticello played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 69-45 to Green River. The Buckaroo haven't had much luck with the Pirates recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.

Escalante has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-10 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.8 points per game. As for Monticello, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-6.