Jake Mahl is an NAU School of Communication student assigned to cover high school basketball for AZPreps365.com

The Coconino Panthers defeated the Mohave Thunderbirds 65-38 at Coconino High School on Thursday.

Coconino was coming off a win against the Prescott Badgers, 58-51. The Mohave Accelerated Patriots defeated the Thunderbirds in their last game, 61-51. 

The Panthers improved to 17-4 and 9-0 in 4A Grand Canyon regional games, while Mohave dropped to 3-15 and 1-7 in region play. 

Coconino got off to a rocking start, making it 17-5 with minutes remaining in the first quarter. Guard Fitz Guinan was doing it all for the Panthers, helping create a sizeable lead early. 

Panthers Jackson Davis made an immediate impact after checking in, drawing a foul to extend the lead 26-5 with seconds left in the first quarter. 

Fortunately for the Panthers, Mohave continued its slow start with just five points total through half of the second quarter.

A couple of turnovers for the Thunderbirds allowed the Panthers to open a 20-point lead.

"To me, I think we showed a lapse in focus at some point," said Panthers coach Cooper Elliott. "There is a lot more left on the table."

With just under two minutes left in the second quarter, Mohave started to fight their way back, making it a 33-15 game.  

Easton Quiroz made a massive impact, crashing the glass for putback layups and sinking his free throws to extend the Panthers lead to 37-18. 

As the first half came to a close, Coconino led the Thunderbirds 42-20.

Hashke Nelson has been the leading scorer for the Panthers this year, averaging 16.1 points per game. Oryon Huayhualla has been another huge part of this Coconino team, averaging 14.3 ppg and over eight rebounds per game. 

Guinan continued to be a threat on both sides of the ball, with multiple steals returned for a fast break point. 

After the end of the third quarter, Coconino kept applying pressure to Mohave, making it 55-26 going into the fourth quarter. 

After another Guinan fastbreak layup, the Panthers found themselves up 63-29. 

"We are going to focus on Bradshaw; we treat everyone with the same respect," said Elliott. "Before we get to Flagstaff, we need to take care of business in Bradshaw."

The Panthers' next game will be Thursday, Feb. 5 against the Bradshaw Mountain Bears, who are 3-10 overall on the season. Mohave will take on the Mingus Union Marauders, who are 13-4.