By Raymundo Frasquillo
MORENCI – The Ruben Leonard-coached No. 32 Morenci Wildcats (3-6 seeding, minus 0.4944 rating) defeated the No. 21 Saint Augustine Catholic Wolves (7-1, 2.1854) 63-51 on Jan. 15. The South Region pairing was held in Wildcat Memorial Gymnasium.
The No. 31 Wildcats (4-6, minus 3.2429) were to close out the week against the No. 12 Redskins (6-3, 8.5847) in Saint Johns on Saturday, Jan. 17. However, a change was made, and the teams won’t meet until Feb. 4.
This week (Jan. 19-24)
This week (Jan. 19-24) in the South Region, Willcox visits Santa Rita at the McHale Center on Monday Jan. 19; Benson visits Saint Augustine, Desert Christian hosts Morenci, Bisbee hosts Santa Rita, and San Miguel visits Tombstone on Tuesday, Jan. 20; Benson hosts Bisbee, Desert Christian visits Santa Rita, Morenci hosts Willcox, and Saint Augustine visits San Miguel on Thursday, Jan. 22; and Willcox hosts Tombstone on Friday, Jan. 23.
Non-region contests include Tombstone visiting 1A South Region Nogales Lourdes Catholic on Wednesday, Jan. 21; Benson hosting 3A South Region Tanque Verde, Morenci visiting Phoenix Country Day School, Saint Augustine hosting 3A South Region Catalina, and Bisbee visiting 1A South Region Saint David on Jan. 23; and Desert Christian hosting Tucson’s The Gregory School on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Morenci – 63, Saint Augustine – 51
A final tie, 25-25, was broken in the closing minute of the second quarter, and the Wildcats extended their 2-point halftime edge with a 22-15 third-quarter outing. An early fourth-quarter field goal allowed Morenci a double-digit advantage, one it would not diminish during the remainder of the game.
Morenci led 13-10 following the first quarter, 27-25 at halftime, and 49-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
For the game, Morenci totaled 27 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 6-8 free throws compared to 20 field goals (nine 3-pointers) plus 2-5 free throws by Saint Augustine.
Junior Aymen Abdulqader tossed in a team-high 27 points on 13 field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 0-2 free throws, junior Adrian McCabe had 13 on six field goals (one 3-pointer), and senior Adrian McCallum had 12 on four field goals plus 4-4 free throws. Sophomore Deegan Miller added 6 points, and freshman Marcus Najar added 5.
Four Wolves did the scoring with junior Carlos Acuna netting a game-high 29 points on 12 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 1-2 free throws and junior Jovanni Fernandez netting 11 on four field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 1-1 free throws. Sophomore Diego Pedrego added 9 points, and sophomore Omar Valdez added 2.
2A No. 31 Morenci Wildcats (4-6 seeding, minus 3.2429 rating)
Morenci (8-13 overall, 4-6 seeding, 2-0 region) is averaging a 44-54 (923-1,139) score per game or a 10-point deficit through 21 games.
A 12-member roster has three seniors, four juniors, four sophomores, and a freshman. The seniors are Abraham Cortez (24), Derick Lytle (22), and Adrian McCallum (25); juniors Aymen Abdulqader (11), Damian Espino (21), Adrian McCabe (12), and Morgan Petross (35); sophomores Andress Aguilera (31), Brennen Burkhead (32), Alejandro LaPrada (10), Deegan Miller (23); and freshman Marcus Najar (33).
The Ruben Leonard-coached Wildcats are competing in the 9-member 2A South Region with the Benson Bobcats, the Bisbee Pumas, the Tombstone Yellow Jackets, the Willcox Cowboys, along with the Tucson schools Desert Christian Eagles, Saint Augustine Catholic Wolves, the San Miguel Catholic Vipers, and the Santa Rita Eagles.
2A State Rankings
The statewide rankings for the Top 24 of 52 statewide 2A schools at noon on Jan. 16 were Gilbert San Tan Charter (12-0 seeding, 24.2659 rating) No. 1, Phoenix Country Day School (10-1, 16.3568) No. 2, Pima (9-1, 14.9808) No. 3, Phoenix North Valley Christian (9-1, 14.3520) No. 4, Scottsdale Christian (8-3, 13.3082) No. 5, Fountain Hills (10-3, 12.1256) No. 6, Phoenix Arizona Lutheran (7-2, 11.7563) No. 7, and Phoenix Veritas Prep (9-1, 10.8833).
San Carlos (8-3, 10.8821) was No. 9, Flagstaff Northland Prep (5-2, 9.1016) No. 10, Glendale Prep (6-3, 8.6207) No. 11, Saint Johns (6-3, 8.5847) No. 12, Gilbert Classical (10-2, 7.6173) No. 13, Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep (8-5, 7.5744) No. 14, Phoenix Madison Highland Prep (8-3, 7.4148) No. 15, and Benson (7-3, 7.3111) No. 16.
Eagar Round Valley (7-4, 5.0530) was No. 17, Bullhead City Mohave Accelerated (6-5, 3.9331) No. 18, Phoenix Horizon Honors (5-6, 3.2476) No. 19, Phoenix Christian (4-6, 2.5803) No. 20, Tucson Saint Augustine (7-1, 2.2276) No. 21, Camp Verde (3-6, 2.0735) No. 22, Chandler Lincoln Prep (6-5, 1.9273) No. 23, and Avondale Highland Prep West (5-5, 1.8313) No. 24.
The state rankings for the other seven 2A South Region members were Willcox (6-4, 1.1757) No. 25, Bisbee (5-2, minus 2.3718) No. 28, Desert Christian (6-4, minus 2.7065) No. 29, Morenci (4-6, minus 3.2429) No. 31, Santa Rita (6-7, minus 6.2885) No. 35, San Miguel (3-10, minus 17.9513) No. 50, and Tombstone (1-8, minus 20.4817) No. 51.
2A South Region Standings
Standings in the 2A South Region as of Jan. 15 were Benson (11-5 overall, 7-3 seeding, 2-0 region), Tucson Desert Christian (7-8, 6-4, 2-0), Morenci (8-13, 4-6, 2-0), Willcox (13-5, 6-4, 2-1), Bisbee (8-4, 5-2, 1-1), Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic (10-4, 7-2, 1-2), Tucson Santa Rita (6-9, 6-7, 1-2), Tucson San Miguel Catholic (3-9, 3-10, 0-3), and Tombstone (1-18, 1-8, 0-2).
Region results are Benson over Willcox (51-50, Jan. 6) and Santa Rita (67-38, Jan. 15), Desert Christian over Tombstone (57-25, Jan. 6) and San Miguel (61-24, Jan. 15), Morenci over San Miguel (74-38, Jan. 6) and Saint Augustine (63-51, Jan. 15), Willcox over Saint Augustine (60-36, Jan. 8) and Bisbee (66-52, Jan. 15), Bisbee over Tombstone (58-44, Dec. 8), Saint Augustine over Santa Rita (58-47, Jan. 6), and Santa Rita over San Miguel (64-32, Jan. 8).
