Empire was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were two points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 71-69 heartbreaker at the hands of the Tanque Verde Hawks. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (55), the Ravens still had to take the loss.
| 01/14/25 vs Tanque Verde | 19 |
| 01/10/25 vs Desert Christian | 26 |
| 01/07/25 @ Cholla | 18 |
| 01/04/25 vs Show Low | 23 |
| 01/04/25 vs Dishchii'bikoh | 20 |
Loss or not, Empire got some senior leadership from Khari Gurley and Donovan Davidson. Gurley posted 16 points in addition to eight boards and seven assists, while Davidson had 19 points along with six assists and six rebounds. Davidson's evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Issac Buchanan, who put up 16 points.
Even though they lost, Empire smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive matches.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Tanque Verde to victory, but perhaps none more so than Philip Knott, who scored 19 points and six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Rocco Haggard, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 18 boards.
Empire's defeat dropped their record down to 9-12. As for Tanque Verde, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 12-7.
Empire will venture away from home to challenge Sabino at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Sabino's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season. As for Tanque Verde, they will be playing at home against Andrada Polytechnic at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
