The Yuma Criminals struggled with offensive rebounds on Monday (the Thunderbird Titans had 20 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Yuma suffered a tough 67-46 defeat at the hands of the Titans. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Yuma in their matchups with the Titans: they've now lost four in a row.
Yuma lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Max Pacheco, who scored 13 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Mosqueda, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and four steals.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Thunderbird to victory, but perhaps none more so than Aidan Rampley, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Ryan Calcaterra, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Yuma has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-7 record this season. As for Thunderbird, the win (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 19-5.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Yuma will stay at home for another game and welcome the Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on February 5th. Thunderbird will take on the Cobras at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Arizona (Cactus is ranked 39th, while the Titans are ranked 55th).
