Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Pima Grant Ashby throws down one of his three slam dunks on the night as Pima dispatched Bisbee on Tuesday, 67-39.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – The Pima Roughriders boy’s basketball team had a rim-rocking good time Tuesday as they breezed past Bisbee, 67-34.
“Bisbee has some speed, but I feel like we did a good job playing defense and causing turnovers,” said Pima head coach Cliff Thompson.
Inside/outside threat Grant Ashby brought the crowd to their feet not once, or twice, but thrice with three slam dunks that elated the fans and his teammates. Ashby finished with 11 points on the night.
“We got out and ran a little bit and dunked a few so that was nice,” coach Thompson said. “We’ve been pushing our guys to go to the basket with a little more authority, so it was nice to see that a little bit.”
Mr. mid-range Garrett Curtis showed off his versatility as well on his way to a game-high 14 points on 7-10 (70%) shooting from the field. While Mr. double-double Seth Russell did just that with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while the outside was controlled by Coy Miller, who hit two 3’s and a couple of field goals for 10 points and the fourth Pima starter in double figures for the game. Other scorers included Leland Thompson with 5 points; Dallin Kartchner with 4; Nathan Skiba with 3; and Riley Alder, Pierce Ashby, Sam Ray, and Wyatt Wiltbank all had 2 points each.
For Bisbee, Jose Mendez and David Zamudio both had 11 points each to lead the Pumas; followed by Abdiel Armenta with 4; Sebastian Lopez with 3; Jose Salazar, and Ramon Loya with 2 points each; and Fernando Gallegos with 1 point.
Pima started out hot and quickly built up a 6-0 lead, prompting Bisbee to burn its first time out. It didn’t help.
After going up 15-10 after the first quarter, the Roughriders exploded for 24 points in the second quarter in which every starter scored on a balanced attack. Pima played strong defense, forced bad shots and caused turnovers, and limited Bisbee’s opportunities with good defensive rebounding. They also were sharp from outside and scored in the paint frequently.
When you put that all together, it was no wonder the Roughriders doubled up the Pumas by halftime with a 39-18 lead.
Pima came out with more of the same in the third and put another 20 points to Bisbee’s 7 to initiate the fourth-quarter running clock mercy rule. The fourth quarter went quick, and Pima began focusing on its next game after defeating Bisbee 67-39.
“We’re just trying to get better,” coach Thompson said. “I mean, state playoffs start in three weeks. We gotta start getting ready for that and get better as a team as we get closer and move through the season.”
Pima will start a three-game road trip against Morenci on Thursday, Jan. 27, starting at 7 p.m. The Roughriders will then have games at Bisbee on Feb. 1 and at Willcox on Feb. 4 before returning home on Feb. 5 for a big game against No. 1 Scottsdale Christian.
Click here to view the Gila Herald’s photo album from the game.
In other local hoop action:
In 3A, No. 11 Thatcher (3-2 region, 8-4 conference, 17-5 overall) defeated Florence, 65-44. The Eagles will next host ALA Ironwood on Friday, Jan. 28, starting at 7 p.m.
Safford (2-5 region, 2-7 conference, 7-13 overall) fell to Sabino, 50-67. The Bulldogs will next host (Tucson) Pusch Ridge on Friday, Jan. 28, starting at 7 p.m.
In 2A, Morenci (1-3 region, 2-4 conference, 7-13 overall) fell to Willcox, 43-49. Morenci will next host Pima on Thursday, Jan. 27, starting at 7 p.m.
In 1A, No. 9 Duncan (4-1 region, 12-3 conference, 19-5 overall) defeated Fort Thomas, 59-41, on Jan. 24; defeated Valley Union, 78-20, on Jan. 25; and defeated Tombstone, 59-38 on Jan. 26. The Wildcats will next travel to Cibecue to face the Dishchii’bikoh Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 29, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Fort Thomas (1-2 region, 3-8 conference, 3-17 overall) fell to Duncan, 41-59, on Jan. 24. The Apaches will next travel to face the Hayden Lobos on Thursday, Jan. 27, starting at 7 p.m.
