They had a rough start to the Yvonne Johnson Memorial Tournament but finished strong. In their first game at Camp Verde Community Center on Friday, the Chino Valley boys basketball team struggled offensively through the first three quarters but outscored Show Low 22-12 in the fourth quarter. It still wasn’t enough, as Chino lost to Show Low 49-39. Their second game of the day was a total team effort that saw the Cougars annihilate Rough Rock 76-27.
The Cougars kept on rolling through Saturday’s games as they edged out Valley 66-65, with Landon Smith leading the Chino offense with 22 points. The final game of the day was a low-scoring affair that saw the Cougars outlast Many Farms 36-34. Ben Sibole notched ten points in that game for Chino Valley, who finished the tournament 3-1. Those were also the Cougars’ first three wins of the season.