The River Valley Dust Devils fought the good fight in their overtime match against the Madison Highland Prep Heat on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 75-64 to the Heat. River Valley's loss keeps them winless this season.
Several Dust Devils players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Nysaiah Vargas, who scored 17 points along with nine assists and seven steals. Vargas scored a full 26.6% of River Valley's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Daniel Sesma was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with nine blocks and eight rebounds.
Madison Highland Prep was led to victory by Will Marsh and Maxx Gonzalez. Marsh scored 21 points along with four steals, while Gonzalez dropped a double-double on 34 points and 14 rebounds. Those 34 points set a new season-high mark for Gonzalez. Another player making a difference was Corey Osborn, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and three steals.
River Valley's defeat was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 0-4. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.3 points per game. As for Madison Highland Prep, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
River Valley will look to defend their home court on Wednesday against American Leadership Academy - West Foothills at 7:00 p.m. American Leadership Academy - West Foothills is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak. As for Madison Highland Prep, they will head out on the road to face off against Willcox at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. That game will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Lane Whetten and Gonzalez.
