Basketball Recap: Tyler Merto Key Part of a Team Effort in Jaguars Win

There's no place like home for Desert Pines, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Thursday. They walked away with a 72-59 win over the Las Vegas Wildcats on Tuesday. For the Jaguars, this counts as revenge for the 64-58 victory the Wildcats walked away with the last time they faced one another back in February of 2024.

Desert Pines' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tyler Merto led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds. That's the most boards Merto has posted since back in December of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Prince Davis, who went 6 for 9 on his way to 15 points.

Desert Pines was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Despite the loss, Las Vegas still got an impressive performance from Tayshaun Jackson, who went 8 of 18 en route to 24 points along with six assists and five rebounds. That was a full 40.7% of Las Vegas' points, marking the eighth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Mychael Walker, who went 6 for 10 on his way to 14 points.

The win snapped Desert Pines' losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 8-9 record. As for Las Vegas, they dropped their record down to 9-15 with the loss, which was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season.

Coincidentally, both will both be playing Liberty the next time they take the court. Desert Pines will head out to face Liberty at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, while Las Vegas will host them at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.