The Sahuaro Cougars had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 40.2 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Monday. They enjoyed a cozy 73-57 win over American Leadership Academy. Given Sahuaro's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while American Leadership Academy is ranked 92nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Sahuaro's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nick Ponds led the charge by scoring 21 points along with seven steals. The match was Ponds' sixth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Cisco Llamas, who scored 14 points along with nine steals and eight assists.
Sahuaro pushed their record up to 8-1 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. They've been dominating during the matchups in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 22.33 points. As for American Leadership Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-3.
Sahuaro has the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome Tanque Verde at 7:00 p.m. on December 13th. Tanque Verde is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 58.4 points per game. American Leadership Academy won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Mesquite at 7:00 p.m. on December 12th. Mesquite is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 63.4 points per game.
