On the line Thursday night for #1 Arcadia and #9 Mesquite's boys basketball teams was sole possession of first place in the 4A Desert Sky Region. It marked the halfway point for both teams in region play. Something to brag about for the winner for a day or two with five weeks left in the season.

The teams move forward with the knowledge for now it's advantage Mesquite. The Wildcats 16-2 lead after the opening quarter was too much for Arcadia to overcome. The result:  a 62-51 triumph for Mesquite on the Titans' home floor.

Mesquite (14-6 overall, 5-0 regio, 9-3 power-ranking games) won its eighth game in a row -  all of them by double-digit margins. The loss was the first in a power-ranking game this season for coach Stephen Danford's Titans, who are 17-4, 4-1, 11-1. Arcadia is the defending region champion.

First-year Mesquite head coach Michael Edgmon, a Mesquite alum and part of its first graduating class in 2001, was impressed.

"We wanted to bring it and they did," Edgmon said. "We came out putting pressure on them and playing Mesquite basketball. We aren't big so we rely on speed and quickness. We emphasized in pregame to keep them in front of us. It was a great way to open the game."

Senior guard Ricky Hernandez and sophomore Nathan Calmese were the catalysts. Hernandez poured in 25 points. Fiftee came in the final quarter and 12 of the points from the free-throw line Calmese added 16 points before fouling out with 4:20 to play. Calmese came up with a key steal at midcourt and fed Hernandez for a layup that was part of a 9-1 run over a three-minute span. That shutdown Arcadia's best run at a comeback.  A three-point play by the Titans Nick Wilber had sliced Mesquite's lead to 42-37 with 5:38 to play.

"I've coached Ricky for four years and he's continued to improve," Edgmon said. "Nathan is one of the best there is off the dribble. He's just a sophomore and does a lot of things to help us."

Mesqute built the first-quarter lead off of six points from Calmese and four from Hernandez. The Wildcats limited Arcadia to 1 of 9 shooting in the quarter with the only basket by Max Majerle with 1:30 left in the stanza. Majerle led Arcadia with 13 points and Owen Shaw added 10.

The teams finish the regular season against each other on Feb. 11 at Mesquite.