Desert View is on a ten-game streak of home losses dating back to last season, and Poston Butte a four-game streak of away losses. However, someone's due for a change in luck on Monday. The Desert View Jaguars will be home for the holidays to greet the Poston Butte Broncos at 1:30 p.m. Desert View has given up an average of 57.9 points per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 66-34, which was the final score in Desert View's tilt against Canyon del Oro on Friday. That's two games in a row now that the Jaguars have lost by exactly 32 points.
Despite the defeat, Desert View saw an underclassman step up: freshman Edgar Holguin went 6-for-12 en route to 15 points. Andrew Godoy was another key player, putting up six points and eight boards.
Meanwhile, Poston Butte lost to Cholla on the road by a 69-50 margin on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Broncos can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 187th, while the Chargers are ranked 40th).
Desert View will need to focus on slowing down Calvin Kabiro, one of several Poston Butte players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Donovan Countee, who put up seven points and six rebounds.
Desert View's loss dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Poston Butte, they now have a losing record of 5-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Desert View has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Poston Butte struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Desert View couldn't quite get it done against Poston Butte in their previous meeting back in December of 2024 as they fell 61-52. Thankfully for the Jaguars, Dutch Martinez Jr (who shot 86% from beyond the arc to rack up 42 points in addition to eight boards and five assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
