Even though the Twentynine Palms Wildcats scored an imposing 62 points on Wednesday, the Indio Rajahs still came out on top. Indio strolled past Twentynine Palms with points to spare, taking the game 81-62. Given Indio's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 454th, while Twentynine Palms is ranked 1051st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jayden Gonzalez was his usual excellent self, scoring 37 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Daven Thomas was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
Twentynine Palms' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Ayden O'Gilvie, who scored nine points along with 17 rebounds and seven steals, and Brandon Evans who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds. O'Gilvie has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last five times he's played. Another player making a difference was Javius Webster, who scored seven points.
Indio is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. As for Twentynine Palms, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 7-13.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Indio on the road again on Friday and play against Yucca Valley at 7:00 p.m. on January 12th. Yucca Valley will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak. As for Twentynine Palms, they will head out on the road to take on Desert Hot Springs at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Desert Hot Springs has now lost seven straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 15.
