The Mesa Jackrabbits were the 64-54 winner over the Pinnacle Pioneers when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Mesa took a hard 65-51 fall against Pinnacle on Tuesday. Mesa has been going strong on the season, but this is now their second loss in a row.
Several Jackrabbits players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Anthony Seumanu, who scored 17 points. John Petersen was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Pinnacle's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Braylon Johnson, who scored 19 points along with five rebounds and two steals. That's the first time this season that Johnson grabbed two or more steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Domonic Okeke, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Mesa's defeat dropped their record down to 12-5. As for Pinnacle, their win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-7.
Mesa on the road again on Friday and play against Red Mountain at 7:00 p.m. on January 12th. Red Mountain will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Arizona Rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while Mesa is ranked 29th). As for Pinnacle, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Sunnyslope at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Sunnyslope is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 64.7 points per game.
