The Mesquite Wildcats had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They came out on top against Marcos de Niza by a score of 61-52. Given Mesquite's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 19th, while Marcos de Niza is ranked 187th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Desean Middlebrook was his usual excellent self, scoring 26 points along with three steals. He has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last nine times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylen Wollangk, who scored ten points along with five assists and four steals.
Marcos de Niza's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Dj Drew, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Another player making a difference was James Steward, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and four blocks.
Mesquite is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-4 record this season. As for Marcos de Niza, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 7-13.
Mesquite and St. Mary's will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in St. Mary's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last eight matchups. As for Marcos de Niza, they will head out on the road to challenge Arcadia at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Arcadia is out to stop a three-game streak of losses at home.
