The Sedona Red Rock Junior High School eighth grade boys basketball team went undefeated in an eighth-grade team tournament held at Cottonwood Middle School on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Five wins out of five and an average of almost 40 points per game were the highlights for the Scorpions [16-2, 10-1].

“I think the idea for us to go that tournament was for us to get better and see what bigger competition looks like,” head coach Pedro Ortega said.

Red Rock’s scores were: 42-13 against Glassford Middle School, 42-29 against Mayer Elementary School, 40-30 against Bradshaw Mountain Middle School, 29-17 against Heritage Middle School, and 39-32 against Cottonwood Middle School.

The team had a style different to that of the other teams in the tournament, using long-range shooting and a type of zone defense with characteristics of man-to-man defense, according to Ortega.

“We focus on defense and then obviously that generates offense for us,” Ortega said.

Against Bradshaw Mountain Middle School, the Scorpions led 25-18 at halftime.

In the second half, Bradshaw was able to bring the score to within two at 27-25 and 30-28, but 10 unanswered points from Red Rock sealed the deal.

“It was a total team effort,” Ortega said. “Everyone played well.”

The tournament was played in a modified style; games were played in two 10-minute halves instead of four six-minute quarters. Additionally, outside of the final two minutes of the game, regular fouls automatically awarded one point to the opposing team and a shooting foul two points.

The final score from the Scorpions’ game at Camp Verde Middle School on Tuesday, Jan. 17, was not available at press time. They next play at Camp Verde on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27 and 28, in the final tournament of the season.