Basketball Recap: Crew Oetjen Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Tuba City

Arete Prep was handed a 41-point defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Tuba City Warriors, sneaking past 79-76. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the CHARGERS have posted since January 8, 2024.

Arete Prep's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Crew Oetjen led the charge by dropping a double-double on 24 points and 21 boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Harrison Kremer, who went 8 for 15 en route to 20 points and seven assists.

Arete Prep was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tuba City only posted two assists.

Tuba City lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Marai Bilagody, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 16 points. The dominant performance gave Bilagody a new career-high in points. Tyler Tsinnie was another key player, putting up 18 points.

Arete Prep is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.5 points per game. As for Tuba City, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-7 record this season.

Arete Prep has already played their next matchup, a 68-58 loss against Heritage Academy on the 4th. As for Tuba City, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 48-46 win against Monument Valley on the 7th.