If Needles was feeling good fresh off their 89-58 takedown of Safford on Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Mustangs fell just short of the River Valley Dust Devils by a score of 68-66 on Friday. The loss was the Mustangs' first of the season.

Luke Mills
| 12/12/25 vs River Valley | 25 |
| 12/12/25 vs Safford | 28 |
| 12/11/25 vs Snowflake | 17 |
| 12/09/25 @ Mohave Accelerated | 17 |
| 12/04/25 @ Pahrump Valley | 24 |
Several Mustangs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Luke Mills, who went 10-for-22 on his way to 25 points along with six assists and three steals. The game was Mills' fifth in a row with at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Darrell Russell, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 13 boards.
Having lost for the first time this season, Needles fell to 4-1. As for River Valley, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-1.
Looking ahead, Needles won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Winslow at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Mustangs' defense better be ready for this one: the Bulldogs have averaged an impressive 65.1 points per game this season. As for River Valley, they will be home for the holidays to greet Kingman at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
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