Pinon defeats Red Mesa

RED MESA, Ariz. — In a regular season matchup Saturday night, the Piñon Eagles secured a 41-24 victory over Red Mesa in a game defined by strong defensive play and converting shots into points.

The Eagles took control early, scoring the game’s first three points before Red Mesa answered with a layup to make it 3-2. Piñon maintained their lead, finishing the first quarter ahead 11-6.

Both teams displayed solid defensive efforts, but offensive execution proved challenging. By halftime, Piñon held a slim 20-15 advantage as both squads struggled to find consistency on either end of the court.

It could be argued that the game turned on the 10 penalties Red Mesa committed, which disrupted their rhythm and disadvantaged them in critical moments. The Eagles took full advantage of these miscues, converting several free throws and gaining momentum early in the contest.

In the first half, Piñon’s aggressive defense forced Red Mesa into tough shots, leading to a disjointed offensive performance that saw the home team struggling to find their footing.

As the second half unfolded, Red Mesa’s frustration grew, compounded by missed opportunities to convert open shots and capitalize on fast breaks. The Eagles maintained their composure, executing their plays with precision and extending their lead to as much as 15 points late in the game.

“I told the boys that, ‘Hey, that guy’s out. Take advantage of this,’” said Piñon coach John Hubbell of Red Mesa’s Jonah Herbert, getting out of the game due to an injury. “And they were getting foul trouble. They were getting tired, probably, so we just took advantage of it.”

The third quarter saw the Eagles pull away, opening their lead to 30-17 midway through the period. Piñon’s relentless defense and timely scoring stretched their advantage to 38-23 late in the game, even as their second string took the court.

Despite moments of promise for Red Mesa, they couldn’t close the gap, and Piñon sealed the win with a final score of 41-24.

Red Mesa head coach Merlin Harvey said his team ran out of gas and could not keep up.

“I told them from the beginning that this is how the game is going and to start running with the ball, and I told them, ‘Play your game, don’t play their game.’ And for a while there, they forgot about that, so I had to remind them just to play their game, not to run with that team,” said Harvey.

Meanwhile, Piñon found success through balanced scoring and strong rebounding efforts.

Coach Hubbell praised his team’s resilience and focus.

“We knew coming into this game that we had to stay disciplined and take advantage of every opportunity. They’re a good team, but we stuck to our plan and executed when it mattered most,” Hubbell said.

With this win, Piñon went up against Rock Point. They take on the Lincoln Prep Lightning from Chandler, Arizona, at home this Saturday at 3 p.m.

Red Mesa took on the Hopi Bruins at Hopi High School. They play in Tuba City on Dec. 3 against Greyhills Academy at 7:30 p.m.

The Eagles will look to carry this momentum into their next matchup, while Red Mesa aims to bounce back and reclaim their form in the coming weeks.

During the game, a referee warned the players not to “flop.”

“It’s a new rule. They’re getting really strict this year,” the ref told the Red Mesa players.

Flop or flopping is faking being fouled, according to the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s website, is when a player simulates being fouled or makes theatrical or exaggerated movements when there is no illegal contact during an impact of incidental contact on block or charge play. The player uses a “head bob” to simulate illegal contact and uses any tactic to create an opinion of being fouled to gain an advantage.

The new language also establishes a procedure for officials to issue a team warning on the first instance of faking being fouled. The warning is recorded in the scorebook and reported to the head coach. Any additional instances will result in a team technical foul and not a player technical foul, which was previously the case.

Harvey said his player told him he was elbowed in the chest when the ref gave the warning on Red Mesa for flopping.

“I guess the ref didn’t see that,” the coach said of the flop warning against his team.

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