Even though the Desert Ridge Jaguars scored an imposing 66 points on Thursday, the Corona del Sol Aztecs still came out on top. Corona del Sol narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Jaguars 68-66. Given Corona del Sol's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 46th, while the Jaguars are ranked 140th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Corona del Sol to victory were Crew Swearingen and Bo Dolinsek. Swearingen scored 20 points, while Dolinsek dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds. Dolinsek is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 17 or more in the last seven games he's played. Mihail Kostadinovski was another key contributor, scoring five points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Desert Ridge's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Major Wootan, who scored 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Payton Lapping, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Desert Ridge were working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Corona del Sol only racked up 12 assists.
The win makes it two in a row for Corona del Sol and bumps their season record up to 11-9. As for Desert Ridge, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-14.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Corona del Sol will take on the Thunder at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Desert Vista will be looking to extend their current 11-game winning streak. As for Desert Ridge, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
