Dylan Breese is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Cactus High School for AZPreps365.com.

The weather in Glendale was 65 degree outside at tipoff, but it was an ice cold shooting night for the Cactus Cobras in their 84-69 home loss against the Desert Edge Scorpions.

The Cobras offense came out flat in the first quarter when all seven of its three-point attempts failed to find the bottom of the net, and seemingly every other jump shot taken just couldn’t find the mark.

The Cobras shooting woes allowed Desert Edge to take a 17-6 lead after one,  a lead the Scorpions never saw go under eight points the rest of the game.

“If we hit those shots, it’s a different game,” senior forward T.J. Rucker said. “[We] just gotta get in the gym and get better.”

The Cactus offense found other ways to score on the tough night, but spotting an early double-digit lead to Desert Edge is difficult to overcome when shots aren’t falling.

The game was a gritty and entertaining fight throughout the next three quarters, but the Cobras never went on that much needed run to bring the game within one or two possessions.

“Some nights it just doesn’t go your way and tonight it wasn’t going our way,” senior forward Conner Cordts said. “When we had them at their place, it was our night and going our way but they got lucky this time and it was just going their way this time.”

Not only did the missed shots hurt the Cobra offense, they were burned on the defensive side, too. The Scorpions ran their efficient transition offense often.

The Scorpions were led by junior Amarei Hunter’s 27 points and junior Shay Cain’s 26 points, most of which came in the paint or on the fast break.

The Cobras played stout defense in the half-court all game, switching between man and zone to force some turnovers and keep the game interesting, but the biggest breakdowns came in the transition game.

“We watched film to take them out of their sets, but they just got going on the fast break,” Cordts said in regards to how they executed their defensive game plan.

The Scorpions moved to 17-4 overall behind their defense, transition and rebounding

Cactus fell to 13-10, splitting the season series against Desert Edge 1-1.

The Cobras next game is against Lake Havasu on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. as they look to turn it around after losing three of their last four.