After a string of four wins, the Arizona Lutheran Academy Coyotes's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They suffered a rough 91-66 loss at the hands of Desert Christian. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Arizona Lutheran Academy came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while Desert Christian is ranked 118th).
When it comes to explaining why Arizona Lutheran Academy lost, one person who can't be blamed is Noah Draper. Despite the final result, he scored 22 points along with eight rebounds. Those 22 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Corey Riesop, who scored 12 points.
Even though they lost, Arizona Lutheran Academy were working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Desert Christian only racked up 25 assists.
Desert Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jonathan Brown led the charge by scoring 31 points along with six rebounds. The matchup was Brown's 11th in a row with at least ten points. Tyson Dobbins was another key contributor, going 6 for 8 from beyond the arc en route to 29 points and 3 assists.
Arizona Lutheran Academy's loss ended a 13-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-2. As for Desert Christian, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-3 record this season.
Arizona Lutheran Academy will finish 2023 at home by hosting Northwest Christian at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Desert Christian is on the road again on Friday and play against Phoenix Country Day at 8:00 p.m. on December 29, 2023. Phoenix Country Day is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
