Two dominant guards in Carter Brown and Daniel Ortiz are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks will be taking part in a tournament against the Palo Verde Titans at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday. Ironwood Ridge knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past five contests -- so hopefully Palo Verde likes a good challenge.
On Tuesday, Ironwood Ridge really took it to Flowing Wells for the full four quarters, racking up a 68-41 victory. With the Nighthawks ahead 47-13 at the half, the match was all but over already.
| 12/17/24 vs Flowing Wells | 4 |
| 01/11/24 @ Buena | 4 |
| 12/22/23 @ Vista Grande | 4 |
| 01/25/24 @ Mountain View | 3 |
| 12/15/23 vs Canyon del Oro | 3 |
It was another big night for Brown, who posted 11 points and four steals. That's the most steals he has posted since back in January. Lucas Anderson was another key player, putting up 12 points.
Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Palo Verde's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They fell just short of Yuma Catholic by a score of 47-44. The game marked the Titans' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Ironwood Ridge will need focus on slowing down Ortiz, one of several Palo Verde players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 of 16 on his way to 16 points. Ortiz is also crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Adrian Powers, who had six points and five rebounds.
Ironwood Ridge's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-5. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.2 points per game. As for Palo Verde, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Ironwood Ridge and Palo Verde are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Ironwood Ridge hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 57.9 points per game. However, it's not like Palo Verde struggles in that department as they've been averaging 71.9 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Ironwood Ridge came up short against Palo Verde in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, falling 62-50. Can Ironwood Ridge avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
