The Youngker Roughriders were the 65-44 winner over the Independence Patriots when they last played one another back in February, but their luck changed this time around. Youngker fell just short of Independence by a score of 61-58. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
When it comes to explaining why Youngker lost on Tuesday, one person who can't be blamed is Ares Chambers. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. The match was Chambers' fourth in a row with at least ten points. Xavier Hargrove was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Youngker were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Independence found their leader in underclassman Anthony Colonna, who scored 28 points along with four steals. Those 28 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Diego Martinez, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.
Youngker now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Independence, their victory bumped their record up to 4-9.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. After both having extra time off, Youngker and Copper Canyon will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:00 p.m. on January 9, 2024. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (Copper Canyon is ranked 195th, while Youngker is ranked 197th). Independence will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Kofa at 7:00 p.m. on January 9, 2024.
