There's no place like home for the Mayer Wildcats, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Friday. They escaped with a win on Monday against Desert Heights Prep by the margin of a single free throw, 51-50. This was payback for Mayer, who suffered a 65-45 defeat the last time these two teams met.
When it comes to explaining why Desert Heights Prep lost, one person who can't be blamed is Darron Flores. Despite the final result, he scored 21 points along with nine rebounds. Flores scored a full 42% of Desert Heights Prep's points, the sixth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Hamza Nuristani, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Mayer's victory bumped their record up to 3-9. As for Desert Heights Prep, they still haven't won a game yet this season and fell to 0-6.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Mayer will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on North Phoenix Preparatory Academy at 7:00 p.m. on January 4, 2024. North Phoenix Preparatory Academy comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 23 points in their last three games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse. Desert Heights Prep will be home for the holidays to greet Anthem Prep at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Anthem Prep presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Desert Heights Prep in Arizona (Anthem Prep is ranked 167th, while Desert Heights Prep is ranked 341st).
