Basketball Recap: Desert Hills Comes Up Short

Desert Hills lost against Crimson Cliffs back in January and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Desert Hills Thunder fell just short of the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs by a score of 63-61. The Thunder have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

When it comes to explaining why Desert Hills lost, don't look at Jack Openshaw. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 22 points and 13 rebounds. Those 13 boards gave Openshaw a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Chase, who went 5 for 8 on his way to 12 points.

Even though they lost, Desert Hills smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.

Crimson Cliffs' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mckay Lindquist, who went 6 of 13 en route to 21 points. Lindquist has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Drake Carroll, who went 10 for 16 on his way to 21 points.

Desert Hills' loss dropped their record down to 11-10. As for Crimson Cliffs, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season.

Desert Hills has already played their next game, a 41-39 defeat against Pine View on the 3rd. As for Crimson Cliffs, they will welcome Hurricane at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Crimson Cliffs is on a seven-game streak of home wins, Hurricane a three-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court.