Although the winning streak has come to an end, there is still a lot left in front of Yuma High School's boys basketball club.
The Outlaws' 13-game winning streak came to an end last Saturday with a 68-59 loss to a very good Strasburg team and a 76-48 home win over Wiggins two days earlier. But they bounced back Thursday night with an organized victory over Sedgwick County at home. They are currently 14-2 and remain No. 2 in the Class 3A selection and seeding index as of earlier this week.
Next up is Friday's home game against Merino. They wrapped up the Lower Platte game at Caliche on Tuesday.
Merino, which defeated Yuma last year, was 13-2 and ranked second in the 2A Index, while Caliche was 4-11 and ranked 44th.
“We're going to be playing the Patriots next year, so the next three games are really important in terms of winning at Lower Platte for the last time,” coach Dave Sheffield said before Sedgecoe's game. “I really like where we're sitting and what we've done this year. We just have to take each game as it comes.
The Outlaws got off to a bit of a slow start in the first quarter against Wiggins at The Pit last Thursday. However, they scored 28 points in the second quarter and led 46-24 at halftime. Sheffield emptied their bench and went from there to victory.
Yuma shot 49 percent from the floor, including 54.5 percent from 2-point range, and made 6 of 17 treys. The Outlaws scored 30 points off turnovers and had 19 steals. They maintained a 38-23 advantage in rebounds.
A total of 10 players scored for the Outlaws, including Brody Sheffield with 19 points and 5 assists, Cristian Duarte with 17 points and 3 steals, Jonathan Thomson with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists, Edwin Muñoz with 8 points and 5 steals, and Cesar Gamboa scored four points. , six rebounds and three steals, Myles Rutledge had three points and two rebounds, Leili Trejo had three points and five rebounds, Noe Quesada had three points, Ian Duran had three points, and Alex Pensado had two points and three assists. .
“Our defense stepped up in the second quarter against Wiggins, and that led to a big quarter,” Sheffield said.
The Outlaws traveled to Strasburg on Saturday, where they faced off against a raucous student section and a strong Indians team that moved to fourth place in the 3A Index with a 16-1 record.
Yuma fell behind early, but fought back to within three points and the Indians scored 21 points in the second to take a 37-20 lead.
The Outlaws turned the tide in the third quarter and got within 10 points, and in the fourth quarter they cut the gap to seven points against a bigger, better-shooting team.
Both teams shot well inside the two-point area, with Strasburg hitting 17 of 30 and Yuma 17 of 34. Strasburg also made 8 of 23 3-pointers, while Yuma made 4 of 13. The home team recorded 16 assists. Yuma made seven more free throws, but made just 13 of 26.
“Strasburg was a great test late in the season,” Sheffield said. “We did a lot of things really well, but we didn't do other things. When you only hit 50% from the free throw line in a close game, it's hard to win. We struggled offensively and had a hole at halftime. I really liked the way this group played in the second half.”
Sheffield had 26 points and three rebounds, Thomson had 11 points and 11 rebounds, Gamboa had 11 points and eight rebounds, Duarte had 11 points and three rebounds and Munoz had two rebounds.
