Basketball Recap: Coachella Valley Takes a Loss

If Coachella Valley was feeling good fresh off their 71-50 takedown of Yucca Valley last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Coachella Valley Mighty Arabs took a 71-65 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Indio Rajahs. The Mighty Arabs lost against the Rajahs in their previous head to head back in January of 2024, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 91-45 score last time.

Despite the loss, Coachella Valley still got an impressive performance from Israel Garcia, who posted 21 points and four steals. With that strong performance, Garcia is now averaging an impressive 15.1 points per game. Another player making a difference was Joe Beltran, who put up 12 points in addition to six assists and six boards.

Coachella Valley's defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 11-5. As for Indio, the victory was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 3-12.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Coachella Valley will venture away from home to take on Twentynine Palms at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing isn't great for Twentynine Palms: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while Coachella Valley has snatched up five consecutive wins on the road dating back to last season. As for Indio, they will head out to face off against Yucca Valley at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Indio is facing Yucca Valley at the right time seeing as Yucca Valley is stuck on a six-game losing streak.