Mesa Verde Mavericks gain hard fought win against Mira Loma

By Marcus D. Smith–
Confidence continues to steer the Mavericks in the right direction, as they were coming off of back-to-back wins against Waterford High School, and a GEL league game against Dixon High School.

Looking for their third straight win, Mesa Verde High School was at home against Mira Loma High School on Jan. 17 and it was a tight battle for all four quarters. By the end of the first quarter, the Mavericks led by eight points, 20-12.

“We jumped out to a 15-point lead at one point, however they made adjustments and got back into the game. We didn’t seal it until the end…hard fought win and we look forward to playing them again,” said Mesa Verde boys varsity assistant head coach, Anthony Hodge.

In the second quarter, things would begin to get tight as foul trouble and turnovers would plague Mesa Verde. Despite Mira Loma’s second quarter efforts, Mesa Verde still led by seven going into the locker room at the break, 31-24.

Returning from the break at half-time, the Mavericks opened the third quarter with a quick strike, going on a 6-0 run behind second chance opportunities and points in the paint. Mesa Verde was able to gain an edge on the rebound battle and it would serve as a key factor as the Mavericks would enter the fourth quarter with only a five point lead, despite being outscored in the third quarter, 11-9.

“That’s something we’ve been focusing on the last few days in practice is being more physical and boxing out. We think we could’ve done a slightly better job boxing out tonight,” said Hodge, regarding the play of his big men and their rebounding. “We did win the battle on the boards and we did end up winning the battle on the scoreboard, but it’s been a point of emphasis for probably the last two weeks now; boxing out and not giving up second chance points.”

With just about six minutes remaining in the game, Mesa Verde led by seven points. They continued to trade baskets until later in the fourth quarter. A seven point lead slowly turned into five, and with 1:17 remaining in the game, Mira Loma makes a three point field goal to cut the lead to two points.

They would even have a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 24.9 seconds remaining in the game, but the Matadors missed both attempts from the charity stripe and would have to continue to foul for a chance to win.

After being fouled on back-to-back possessions, the Mavericks led by six, 54-48, and looked to wrap the game up. However, they would be assessed a technical foul when words were exchanged by the opposing players. Immediately after, they went to substitute one of their players and his original number was not listed on the official game bookkeeping, therefore resulting in another technical foul.

Mira Loma would only make three of the next four free throws, and the score was, 54-51, with 0.3 seconds remaining in the game. The buzzer would eventually sound and Mesa Verde extended their win streak to three games now, behind a game-high 28 points from sophomore guard, Anthony Arguelles. Arguelles scored 12 of the team’s 14 points in the fourth quarter to help lead the Mavericks to a victory.

Their next game is against Woodland High School on Jan. 21, the game will be played at Mesa Verde High School.

Sports Reporter Marcus D. Smith covers high school sports in Citrus Heights. Smith is a Sacramento-area native and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2017.