The boys basketball team at Sedona Red Rock High couldn’t get it done on Tuesday, Dec. 4, losing to cross-valley rival Camp Verde High, 64-51.

The boys basketball team at Sedona Red Rock High couldn’t get it done on Tuesday, Dec. 4, losing to cross-valley rival Camp Verde High, 64-51.

“Our lack of intensity and not playing through adversity led to this loss,” senior center Brandon Johnson said.

The loss drops Sedona’s record to 4-3 [0-0] overall on the season.

The Cowboys jumped on Sedona right from the get-go, scoring 18 points in six minutes to take a 18-6 lead.

The Scorpions fought right back with good defense to go on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 20-20 before Camp Verde head coach Darren Gagnon had to take a time out with seven minutes remaining in the half.

“I was impressed with our ability to come back like that. It’s never easy but we got back in the game,” Sedona head coach Bob Murphy said.

The Scorpions continued their solid defense and even put a few things together on the offensive side of the floor by outscoring the Cowboys 21-12 in the second quarter to go into the locker room leading, 31-30.

After all that hard work to get back in the game the Scorpions seemed to stick their heads in the sand on offense to score only four points in the third quarter.

The defense did their job again for Sedona and only allowed 10 points as Camp Verde regained the lead, 40-35.

“We need to think more on offense. We’re in a bad position mentally and that’s not good,” sophomore forward Kevin Cox said.

Playing from behind again the Scorpions tried to get back in the game in the fourth quarter but just couldn’t overcome the solid play by Camp Verde.

The Scorpions dug themselves a hole again, this time the boys were down 55-45 with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

Surprisingly with three minutes remaining the Scorpions looked like they were on the come-back trail again as they cut the Cowboys lead to only five points, 55-50.

Unfortunately, Sedona committed too many fouls in the beginning of the second half so the rest of the way the Cowboys were shooting in the bonus.

Camp Verde made the Scorpions pay as they went 16-20 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to seal the deal and hang a loss on Sedona, 64-51.

The defense for Sedona was solid throughout the game, especially in the fourth quarter as they only allowed four baskets, the rest were free throws.

“Our defense wasn’t too bad tonight but our offense needs some work. We can’t keep digging holes and expecting to get out of them,” Murphy said.

Cox was the only Sedona player in double figures scoring with 10 points on 4-8 shooting from the field.

Junior guard Stephen Byrnes was a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc to add nine points.

Senior center Matt Nazarian had a solid game scoring eight points and seven rebounds while adding a defensive presence in the middle.

Other standouts included junior Luke Dumyahn who scored seven points and pulled  five rebounds.

Unfortunately, Dumyahn hurt his arm while diving for a ball in the fourth quarter and he’s listed as day-to day.

Michael Krajnak was unusually quiet, having scored only seven points on 2-14 shooting. Krajnak is averaging 19.9 points per game this season.

He did record nine rebounds, five steals and five assists however as he was looking to do anything he could to help his team win.

Next up Sedona will host Payson High on Tuesday, Dec. 11, in one of the more anticipated match-ups of the season.

Payson lost to Fountain Hills High in the 3A state championship game last season.

Tip off is set for 7 p.m.

Brian Bergner Jr. can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 131, or e-mail to bbergner@larsonnewspapers.com