The River Valley Dust Devils pushed their score all the way to 68 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They received a tough blow as they fell 86-68 to Tonopah Valley. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game last Thursday (63), River Valley still had to take the loss.
River Valley lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Nysaiah Vargas, who scored 20 points along with six assists and two steals. Vargas is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Nash Hanrahan, who scored 20 points.
Even though they lost, River Valley were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Tonopah Valley's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Xavier Valentine, who scored 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryson Gates, who scored 14 points.
River Valley's loss was their fifth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 3-9. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.2 points per game. As for Tonopah Valley, their win bumped their record up to 2-10.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. River Valley will take on Yuma Catholic at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Yuma Catholic is coming into the game hot, having won their last six games. As for Tonopah Valley, they will look to defend their home court on Wednesday against American Leadership Academy - West Foothills at 7:00 p.m. Allowing an average of 60 points per game, American Leadership Academy - West Foothills has struggled on the defensive end, but that doesn't have to be the case in this game.
