The Class 3A Patriot League is going to be a gauntlet for the Yuma High School boys basketball team, as well as everyone else.
So far, so good, for the Outlaws.
They tipped off 2025 after the holiday break with a hard-fought 52-46 win over Liberty Common, last Saturday in the warmth of The Pit on a frigid and icy day outdoors.
Yuma now is 6-1 overall, and 1-0 after their first game in the Patriot in about 15 years. The Outlaws are No. 3 in the 3A CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index that made its 2024-25 season debut this past Monday. Liberty Common, 6-1 and 0-1, is No. 6. The rest of the top six also are Patriot teams, Strasburg at No. 1, Highland No. 2, Windsor Charter Academy No. 4 and Resurrection Christian No. 5.
The Outlaws now make a foray into 2A this weekend, hosting Akron on Friday before traveling southwest to Simla on Saturday.
Akron went 3-4 in December, and is No. 27 in the 2A Index, but almost always seem to give Yuma a rivalry battle.
“Akron started to hit their stride going into break,” coach Dave Sheffield said. “They will be one of the better teams in the LPAA, and currently have three guys scoring in double figures.”
Simla, on the other hand, entered the new year 4-1 and ranked No. 2 in 2A Index. The Cubs’ only loss in December was 63-62 in overtime to 3A No. 1 Strasburg. They are at Byers, No. 4 in 2A, on Friday before welcoming the Outlaws to town.
“Simla has great size and athleticism,” Sheffield said. “They are very aggressive defensively, and score in many ways. They are a team that has been building towards this year.”
It took all of the Outlaws’ wiles to pull out the win last Saturday.
They took a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes, prompting a Liberty Common timeout.
That early spurt ended up being the difference as the team’s then engaged in a back-and-forth battle.
Yuma had another good start to the second quarter, taking a 17-9 lead. However, the Eagles stuck around, trailing 21-17 at halftime, and 40-35 after three quarters. The visitors then made their move in the fourth, pulling to within 46-45 with a chance to tie at the charity stripe. The free shot was missed, though, and Yuma scored five straight for the breathing room it needed to hold on for the win.
“The first game back was a grind,” Sheffield said. “With only two practices before we played, we showed a lot of rust on the offensive side of the ball, but defensively we were very active, and had one of our better rebounding games.”
Yuma made only 14 of 24 attempts at the charity stripe, but the Eagles shot only six free throws, making six. That was key as the Outlaws were outshot from the floor on 2-pointers. Both teams were as cold from behind the arc as it was outside, Yuma making just two of 13 and Liberty Common one of 12. The Outlaws had just five assists, but came up with 14 steals and outrebounded the taller visitors 31-28.
Brody Sheffield finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, Jonathan Thomson 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, Alex Pensado eight points, five rebounds and three steals, Silas Baucke six points and six rebounds, Reyli Trejo five points and three rebounds, Noe Quezada two points and four steals, and Jalen Rose two points.