Section 7 Recap: Desert Pines And Sierra Vista

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are recaps on both Desert Pines and Sierra Vista. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Desert Pines -</strong> The Desert Pines Jaguars ended up going 0-4 at Section 7. They lost their first game of the weekend against De LaSalle 60-50. Their second game was against young and talented Higley (AZ) team whom they nearly beat. [player_tooltip player_id='2374347' first='Aaron' last='McMorran II'] was torching the defense with his mid-range shot and getting to the free throw line frequently. The Jaguars found themselves up 15 with 10 minutes left and that's when Higley started their comeback. Isaiah Rider Jr., Marquice Pless, and others hit shot after shot. All of sudden it was just a one point game, and Isaiah Rider Jr. hit a close range shot to give them the lead. Higley never looked back from there. It was a very tough loss for Desert Pines. Desert Pines went on to lose their next 2 games to Lone Peak (UT) 66-54, and Valley Christian (CA). Other standouts for the Jaguars were [player_tooltip player_id='2111894' first='Tyler' last='Merto'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2468244' first='Jaden' last='Redding'], who made notable contributions on the defensive end in all 4 games. Which helped them make all tournament teams. However the Jaguars are need of some more firepower on offense. As they struggled to generate good looks at times and they also need to knock down more free throws.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sierra Vista -</strong> I was able to catch Sierra Vista's first game of Section 7. They matched up against a strong and skilled Damien (CA) team. Damien jumped out to an early lead. They were making a good amount of 3's and scoring in transition throughout the first half. The Mountain Lions had trouble keeping up and they seemed somewhat out of sorts. The final score of the game was 86-35. From there, Sierra Vista raised their level of play and only lost their second game by 6 to Springville (UT), 59-53. Sierra Vista then captured their first win of the weekend, by defeating Foothill (CA) 59-47. Their final game of Section 7 came against Skyridge (UT) and they lost 75-48. With an entirely new starting lineup in place, growing pains were expected. But on the bright side of things, they have a few young crafty guards who will gain a ton of experience with all of playing time that they will get. [player_tooltip player_id='1965124' first='Jayvion' last='Wall'] looks to the focal point on offense, and then they have [player_tooltip player_id='2633812' first='Tristian' last='Porter'] (2028) and [player_tooltip player_id='2624906' first='Damari' last='Sawall'] (2029) who can make shots. Jayden Mason (2026) is another guard who will be asked to both score and D up. [player_tooltip player_id='1965069' first='Aiden' last='Reed'] and Kennoth Broker received most of the playing time at the forward position. Similar to the guards, they have experience to gain but they definitely have size. Looking ahead, the 5A slate will be difficult for the Mountain Lions next season. So they will need to mature fast and figure out lineups that can get the job done on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->