COD Men’s Basketball suffers heartbreak against Fighting Cacti, 79-75

COD (3-11; 1-2) played its first game in almost a month as they held a lead until the final five minutes, falling late to the Copper Mountain Fighting Cacti of Joshua Tree (5-8; 2-0), 79-75.

The Roadrunners would take a 10-9 lead with 15:56 left in the first half and the home side would hold that lead through halftime, where Desert was up 48-39 at the break. The Roadrunners would hold that lead until 5:16 left in the game, when Copper Mountain took a 71-70 lead and never relinquished it.

By the time the testy contest would end, both teams were exhausted and both teams showed a tremendous amount of heart as Desert entered today's contest with only six players.

Sophomore starting guard D.J. Adams (Moreno Valley H.S.) led the Roadrunners, scoring 14 of his 22 points in the first half, shooting 7 of 22 from the field and 4 of 10 from three-point range. Adams was 4 of 5 from the free throw line and snagging his third double-double of the 2021-22 season when he had 11 assists on the afternoon.

Sophomore starting guard Marquis McKinzey (Los Angeles John C. Fremont) was a beast behind the line, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the first half and going 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.

Freshman starting guard Joziaha Winfrey (Desert Hot Springs H.S.) scored 6 of his 11 points in the first half, shooting 5 of 10 from the field and grabbing two steals and freshman starting forward Trevon Batts (Las Vegas (NV) Chaparral) led the team with nine total rebounds and grabbed two steals.

Sophomore starting forward Abraham Bell (Twentynine Palms H.S.) scored 7 of his 11 points in the first half, shooting 5 of 11 from the field and grabbing a blocked shot and sophomore guard Anthony Crowell, Jr. (Desert Hot Springs H.S.) snagging 8 total boards.

The Roadrunners will travel to the Chaffey Panthers of Rancho Cuacmonga (5-8; 1-1) on Wednesday, January 19 at 5p. The next home game will be on Saturday, January 22 at 3p against the Cerro Coso Coyotes of Ridgecrest (12-3; 3-1).

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information, Story & Photo provided by COD Sports Information.