Pima looks to run the table on Tuesday

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: District maintenance employee Frank Kerrigan goes down on his knees to clean up a moisture spill. Morenci hosts No. 8 Pima as No. 7 on Tuesday, Feb. 6. It will be the region and regular season finale.

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: District maintenance employee Frank Kerrigan goes down on his knees to clean up a moisture spill. Morenci hosts No. 8 Pima as No. 7 on Tuesday, Feb. 6. It will be the region and regular-season finale.

Wildcats ranked No. 7, Roughriders No. 8

By Raymundo Frasquillo

MORENCI – The Pima Roughriders ascend “the Hill” on Tuesday, Feb. 6. It will be the regular season and region finale as well as the third time the teams meet this season. Morenci has a 52-45 (Dec. 28) neutral court tourney win while Pima has a 52-41 (Jan. 11) region home win.

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Christopher Lopez (23) defends against easy penetration by Bisbee. The Morenci junior had 11 points while Bisbee junior Sebastian Lopez (4), senior Jose Mendez (3), and senior Francisco Loya (0) had 10, 28, and eight, respectively.

Pima is 18-6 overall against Morenci with an average score of 56-43 (1,347-1,026) per game or a 13-point margin during the previous 10 seasons (2014-23). The Roughriders are 7-2 in Wildcat Memorial Gymnasium during region play with losses of 48-52 (Jan. 15, 2019) and 44-62 (Jan. 9, 2014). The wins in Morenci are 68-40 (Jan. 12, 2023), 55-39 (Jan. 27, 2022), 49-48 (Feb. 20, 2021), 55-44 (Dec. 2, 2019), 56-40 (Jan. 16, 2018), 64-32 (Dec. 13, 2016), and 69-35 (Jan. 22, 2016).

During the same 10-year span, Morenci is 1-4 in the post-season while Pima is 19-8 with a state title in 2023.

In other region pairings, No. 35 Tombstone (1-10 region) hosts No. 21 Benson (6-5) and No. 29 Willcox (3-8) hosts No. 38 Santa Rita (1-10) on Feb. 6. The No. 12 Bisbee Pumas (8-4) have completed their 12 region game schedule.

The non-region pairing has Willcox hosting 3A No. 33 Tucson Empire on Monday, Feb. 5.

No. 8 Pima Roughriders (19-7 overall)

The Cliff Thompson-coached Pima Roughriders (19-7 overall, 13-5 seeding, 11-0 East Region for first of seven) are averaging a 54-39 (1,410-1,015) score per game or a 15-point margin.

Pima has seeding wins over Willcox (65-31, Dec. 1), Tombstone (71-26, Dec. 12), Bisbee (55-28, Dec. 15), Santa Rita (60-9, Jan. 8), Benson (59-48, Jan. 10), Morenci (52-41, Jan. 11), Safford (61-46, Jan. 15), Lakeside Blue Ridge (37-30, Jan. 17), Tombstone (79-25, Jan. 19), Bisbee (57-48, Jan. 23), Willcox (58-19, Jan. 29), Benson (31-28, Jan. 31), and Santa Rita (80-18, Feb. 1). The losses are to Phoenix Arizona Lutheran (56-76, Dec. 16), Snowflake (38-41, Jan. 4), Thatcher (47-64, Jan. 25), and Scottsdale Christian (51-52, Jan. 27).

In addition, the Roughriders went a combined 6-2 during two 3-day tourneys attended. They went 4-2 during the Round Valley tourney on Dec. 7-9 and 2-1 during the Eastern Arizona College-held tourney on Dec. 27-29. The wins were over Holbrook (45-40, Dec. 7), Sanders Valley (65-45, Dec. 8), Fort Thomas (44-28, Dec. 8), Round Valley (58-30, Dec. 9), Safford (57-54, Dec. 27), and Saint David (45-33, Dec. 29) while losses were to Camp Verde (50-54, Dec. 7), Holbrook (44-49, Dec. 9), and Morenci (45-52, Dec. 28).

The Roughriders list seniors Riley Alder (5), JoJo King (2), and Sam Ray (12); juniors Clark Ashby (0), Wyatt Bingham (10), Rhett Hughes (15), Daxton McRae (13), and Preston Russell (33); sophomores Keegan Corona (14), Charlie Richardson (32), and Isaac Thompson (1); and freshman Joel Mattice (23) on their roster.

No. 7 Morenci Wildcats (22-4)

The Ruben Leonard-coached Morenci Wildcats (22-4 overall, 14-2 seeding, 9-2 East Region for second of seven) are averaging a 68-44 (1,757-1,152) score per game or a 24-point margin.

Morenci has seeding wins over San Carlos (75-42, Nov. 20), Saint David (74-28, Nov. 27), Elfrida Valley Union (96-21, Dec. 4), Willcox (52-40, Dec. 6), Tucson Santa Rita (79-52, Dec. 12), Benson (54-42, Dec. 18), Round Valley (67-55, Jan. 2), Tombstone (85-43, Jan. 5), Bisbee (77-63, Jan. 8), Tombstone (82-24, Jan. 12), Willcox (68-37, Jan. 16), Santa Rita (96-25, Jan. 19), Benson (54-52, Jan, 23), and Tucson San Miguel Catholic (90-43, Feb. 3). The losses were to Pima (41-52, Jan. 11) and Bisbee (65-77, Feb. 1).

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Tristen Sanchez (22) draws a double team as he attempts a floor shot. The Morenci senior scored 16 points.

Additionally, the Wildcats posted a combined 8-2 record in two 3-day tourneys. They went 6-1 during the Eagar Round Valley tourney on Dec. 7-9 and 2-1 during the EAC tourney on Dec. 27-29. The wins were over Saint Johns (56-35, Dec. 7), Heber Mogollon (68-43, Dec. 7), Whiteriver Alchesay (52-48, Dec. 8), Fort Thomas (53-42, Dec. 9), Lakeside Blue Ridge (65-40, Dec. 9), Round Valley (71-50, Dec. 9). The losses were to Round Valley (60-68, Dec. 8) and Thatcher (52-58, Dec. 29).

Morenci suits up seniors Tristen Sanchez (22) and Joseph Seballos (5); juniors Noah Chavez (10), Yedidia Laputa Kanyinda (13), and Christopher Lopez (23); sophomores Abraham Cortez (0), Derick Lytle (3), Adrian McCallum (25); and freshmen Aymen Abdulqader (2) and Adrian McCabe (12).

2A East Region Standings

The 2A East Region standings after 39 games played through Feb. 1, are Pima (19-7 overall, 13-4 seeding, 11-0 region) first, Morenci (22-4, 14-2, 9-2) second, Bisbee (17-9, 13-5, 8-4) third, Benson (12-15, 9-8, 6-5) fourth, Willcox (8-17, 6-10, 3-8) sixth, Tombstone (7-16, 5-12, 1-10) seventh, and Tucson Santa Rita (1-15, 1-15, 1-10) eighth.

Pima (11-0) has region wins over Willcox (65-31, Dec. 1), Tombstone (71-26, Dec. 12), Bisbee (55-28, Dec. 15), Santa Rita (60-9, Jan. 8), Benson (59-48, Jan. 10), Morenci (52-41, Jan. 11), Tombstone (79-25, Jan. 19), Bisbee (57-48, Jan. 23), Willcox (58-19, Jan. 29), Benson (31-28, Jan. 31), and Santa Rita (80-18, Feb. 1). Initially ranked No. 10, the No. 7 Roughriders are averaging a 54-39 (1,410-1,015) score per game or a 15-point margin through 26 games.

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Noah Chavez (10) defends against an interior high-percentage shot attempt. The Morenci junior has averaged 11.0 (55) points during the most recent five games.

Morenci (9-2) has region wins over Willcox (52-40, Dec. 6), Santa Rita (79-52, Dec. 12), Benson (54-42, Dec. 18), Tombstone (87-43, Jan. 5), Bisbee (77-63, Jan. 8), Tombstone (82-24, Jan. 12), Willcox (68-37, Jan. 16), Santa Rita (96-25, Jan. 19), and Benson (54-52, Jan. 23). Debuting at No. 4, the No. 6 Wildcats are averaging a 68-44 (1,756-1,152) score per game or a 24-point margin through 26 games.

Bisbee (8-4) has region wins over Tombstone (76-43, Dec. 7), Benson (56-55, Dec. 12), Willcox (69-52, Jan. 2), Santa Rita (59-35, Jan. 5), Tombstone (85-50, Jan. 16), Willcox (75-48, Jan. 26), Santa Rita (74-42, Jan. 29), and Morenci (77-65, Feb. 1). Ranked No. 12, the Pumas averaged a 63-53 (1,647-1,370) score per game or a 10-point margin through 26 games.

Benson (6-5) has region wins over Santa Rita (55-19, Dec. 7), Willcox (64-43, Jan. 8), Tombstone (48-43, Jan. 11), Santa Rita (53-35, Jan. 16), Bisbee (59-52, Jan. 19), and Willcox (56-49, Feb. 1). The No. 21 Bobcats are averaging a 52-50 (1,1393-1,354) score per game or a 2-point margin through 27 games.

Willcox (3-8) has region wins over Tombstone (58-50, Dec. 19), Santa Rita (62-32, Jan. 11), and Tombstone (52-46, Jan. 23). The No. 29 Cowboys are averaging a 47-55 (1,178-1,373) score per game or an 8-point deficit through 25 games.

Tombstone (1-10) has a region win over Santa Rita (66-62, Jan. 26). The No. 35 Yellow Jackets are averaging a 53-62 (1,065-1,424) score per game or a 9-point deficit through 23 games.

Santa Rita (1-10) has a region win over Tombstone (58-37, Jan. 31). The No. 38 Eagles are averaging 35-68 (555-1,093) score per game or a 33-point deficit through 16 games.

2A State Rankings

The Top 24 2A teams coming out of the weekend, with no one dropping out, were Gilbert San Tan Charter No. 1 (17-1 seeding, 20.9272 rating), Phoenix Arizona Lutheran No. 1 (16-1, 18.6427), Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep No. 3 (13-3, 16.3269), Phoenix Christian No. 4 (14-1, 13.9814), Gilbert Leading Edge No. 5 (14-3, 13.5934), Phoenix Horizon Honors No. 6 (13-3, 11.7064), Morenci No. 7 (14-2, 10.7759), Pima No. 8 (13-4, 10.7629), Laveen Heritage No. 9 (14-4, 10.2257), and Phoenix Country Day School No. 10 (12-4, 8.5486).

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Game officials confer during a break in the action, assuring themselves of what to check as the clock winds down.

Surprise Highland Prep was No. 11 (10-5, 7.1386), Bisbee No. 12 (13-5, 7.0239), Phoenix Veritas Prep No. 13 (10-6, 6.7579), Keams Canyon Hopi was No. 14 (16-2, 6.1786), Eagar Round Valley No. 15 (13-5, 4.9890), Kingman Academy No. 16 (9-7, 3.5808), Glendale Prep No. 17 (9-6, 3.3017), Chandler Prep No. 18 (11-6, 3.1905), Gilbert Arete Prep No. 19 (9-9, 3.1609), and Bullhead City Mohave Accelerated No. 20 (9-7, 3.1175).

Benson was No. 21 (9-8, 2.6501), Gilbert Classical No. 22 (9-9, 1.4384), San Carlos was No. 23 (9-9, 1.2990), and Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic No. 24 (10-7, minus 0.8954).

The initial 2A rankings on Jan. 9 were Arizona Lutheran No. 1 (8-0 seeding, 21.1434 rating), San Tan Charter No. 2 (11-1, 19.7417), Rancho Solano Prep No. 3 (9-2, 15.8746), Morenci No. 4 (9-0, 15.0549), Gilbert Leading Edge No. 5 (9-2, 13.1242), Highland Prep No. 6 (5-2, 10.0871), Laveen Heritage No. 7 (8-3, 9.9574), Horizon Honors No. 8 (5-2, 9.1871), Veritas Prep No. 9 (6-4, 8.8163), and Pima No. 10 (4-2, 8.4111).

Hopi was No. 11 (10-0, 8.2281), Mohave Accelerated No. 12 (7-2, 7.5426), Bisbee No. 13 (6-3, 6.8199), Phoenix Christian No. 14 (3-1, 5.4890), Arete Prep No. 15 (6-4, 5.2680), Glendale Prep No. 16 (4-2, 4.4106), Round Valley No. 17 (8-3, 4.2919), Saint Augustine No. 18 (7-2, 3.9683), Benson No. 19 (4-4, 2.9936), and Kingman Academy No. 20 (4-4, 1.7432).

Chandler Prep was No. 21 (5-4, 1.4387), Gilbert Classical No. 22 (6-6, 1.0302), Phoenix Country Day School No. 23 (3-2, 0.9232), and San Carlos No. 24 (6-5, 0.4118).

Morenci – 90, San Miguel Catholic – 46

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Morenci head coach Ruben Leonard keeps a watchful eye to see if directions are followed by the Wildcats.

The visiting Wildcats led 30-13 following the first quarter, 53-27 at halftime, and 76-35 heading into the fourth quarter. Eight Wildcats scored, four in double figures during the non-region game.

Morenci connected on 35 field goals (13 3-pointers) plus 7-14 free throws versus 18 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 7-17 free throws by San Miguel.

Sanchez (22) tallied 15 points on four field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 5-8 free throws, Lopez (23) added eight points, McCallum (25) seven, Lytle (3) five, Seballos (5) four, and Chavez (10) two.

For San Miguel, Rene Sosa (32) had 17 points on six field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 3-10 free throws, Adrian Ramseyer (14) 11 on three field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 4-6 free throws, and Brandon Cano (24) on five field goals. Christian G added four points and Ivan Marmoleso and Axel Priego two each.

Bisbee – 77, Morenci – 65

A fourth first-quarter tie, 12-12, was broken by Bisbee senior Jose Mendez (3) with 58 seconds left and the Wildcats could not tie or take the lead after that. Bisbee had a 19-point advantage, 38-19, with 1:18 remaining in the first half. The Pumas led 14-12 after the first quarter, 38-21 at halftime and 47-41 heading into the fourth quarter.

Morenci got within six thrice, 41-47 on a Chavez (10) 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the third quarter, 61-67 on a Sanchez (22) field goal with 1:04 left, and 63-69 on a Chavez (10) field goal with 53 seconds remaining, but no closer. The hosts went on an 8-2 run to finish out the scoring, making two field goals plus 4-5 free throws versus 2-2 free throws by the visitors.

In all, Morenci had 26 field goals (seven 3-pointers) plus 6-10 free throws compared to 25 field goals (nine 3-pointers) plus 18-24 free throws by Bisbee.

Sanchez (22) tallied a team-high 16 points on seven field goals (two 3-pointers), Chavez (10) 14 on five field goals (four 3-pointers), Kanyinda (13) 11 on four field goals plus 3-6 free throws, and Lytle (3) 10 on four field goals plus 2-2 free throws. Lopez (10) added eight points, Seballos (5) four, and McCallum (25) two.

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Yedidia Laputa Kanyinda (13) fallows through after releasing the ball on a free throw attempt. The Morenci junior made 12-19 during the most recent five games to raise his percentage by 10 points to 41 (24-58).

For Bisbee, senior Jose Mendez (3) 28 on nine field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 6-7 free throws, senior Anthony Molina (2) 16 on five field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 3-3 free throws, and junior Sebastian Lopez (4) 10 on three field goals plus 4-6 free throws. Senior Juan Pablo Navarro (11) added nine points, senior Francisco Loya (0) eight, and senior Julian Fuentes-Hernandez (5) six.

Lopez (4) had 12-17 rebounds and 4-10 assists; Fuentes-Hernandez (5) made 3-7 steals, and both Loya (0) and Mendez (3) two steals apiece; and Mendez (3) had three assists.

Following the 77-63 Morenci win over Bisbee on Jan. 8, the Wildcats totaled 27 field goals (10 3-pointers) plus 13-19 free throws compared to 26 field goals (six 3-pointers) plus 5-7 free throws by Bisbee.

Sanchez (22) netted a team and game-high 26 points on nine field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 7-7 free throws and Chavez (10) 23 on eight field goals (seven 3-pointers). Kanyinda (13) added nine points, McCallum (25) six, Seballos (5) five, and both Lopez (23) and Lytle (3) four apiece.

For Bisbee, Lopez (4) had 20 points on eight field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 3-4 free throws, Mendez (3) 18 on seven field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 1-2 free throws, and Molina (2) 16 on seven field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 1-1 free throws. Hernandez (5) added six points and senior Adolfo Luna (1) two.

Morenci – 54, Benson – 52

The Wildcats exited the Jerry Lee Athletic Complex with a 2-point region win after trailing by three at the start of the fourth quarter. The Bobcats also had a 13-12 edge following the opening quarter, but the 33-28 halftime score favored the visitors.

On the evening, Morenci had 22 field goals (six 3-pointers) plus 4-8 free throws compared to 21 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 6-8 free throws by Benson.

Seven Wildcats scored with three in double figures. Sanchez (22) 17 on seven field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 2-4 free throws, Chavez (10) 12 on five field goals (two 3-pointers), and Seballos (5) 11 on four field goals (three 3-pointers). Kanyinda (13) added six points, Lytle (3) four, and both Lopez (23) and McCallum (25) two apiece.

For Benson, junior Keelyn Payne (13) had 12 points on six field goals, and junior Dominik Villa (4) 11 on five field goals (one 3-pointer). Senior Dalton Crockett (14) and sophomore Dawson Judd (12) added eight points apiece, senior Colton Bellmore (2) six, junior Harley Vanwormer (11) four, and junior Mason McIntyre (2210) two.

Morenci – 93, Santa Rita – 25

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Adrian McCallum (25) moves to rebound a missed free throw attempt. The Morenci sophomore made 1-2 against Willcox and 1-1 against San Miguel to lead the Wildcats in free throw percentage with 65 (24-37).

The Wildcats scored in double figures during all four quarters while the visiting Eagles did so in only one. The result was Morenci led 25-5 after the first quarter, 43-16 at halftime, and 77-22 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Morenci connected on 36 field goals (14 3-pointers) plus 7-15 free throws compared to 10 field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 3-7 free throws by Santa Rita.

Nine Wildcats scored with four in double figures. Lopez (23) netted 19 points on seven field goals (4 3-pointers) plus 1-5 free throws, Sanchez (22) 17 on seven field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 1-1 free throws, Abdulqader (2) 14 on six field goals (two 3-pointers), and Kanyinda (13) 12 on four field goals plus 4-7 free throws. Chavez (10) and McCallum (25) added seven points apiece, Seballos (5) and McCabe (12) both six and Lytle (3) five.

For Santa Rita, senior Fabian Noperi Jr. (13) had seven points, junior David Gonzales (15) five, junior Vernon Johnson Jr. (11) four, sophomore Hery Luna (5) three, and seniors Johnathan Duran (23) and Traiden Taylor (5) and junior Michael Ross (21) two apiece.

Morenci – 68, Willcox – 37

Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Joseph Seballos (5) sights in before releasing the ball on a free throw attempt. The Morenci senior has not attempted any during the most recent six games but totaled 4-4 in the previous two.

The Cowboys scored in double figures during two of the quarters while Morenci did so in all four, leading 15-6 following the first quarter, 40-11 at halftime, and 56-27 heading into the fourth quarter in Cochise County.

For the evening, Morenci connected on 30 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 5-9 free throws versus 14 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 6-9 free throws by Willcox.

Nine Wildcats scored with four in double figures. Kanyinda (13) totaled 16 points on eight field goals, Sanchez (22) 11 on five field goals plus 1-3 free throws, Lytle (3) 11 on four field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 2-2 free throws, and Lopez (23) 10 on five field goals. Chavez (10) added six points, Seballos (5) and McCallum (25) four apiece, and both Abdulqader (2) and McCabe (12) three each.

For Willcox, senior Jacob Kauffman (5) had seven points, senior Alec Fuentes (13), junior Jovani Rodriguez (10), and freshman J.D. Whetten (15) six apiece, senior Lane Whetten (14) five, junior Alan Solis (1) four, and freshman Emiliano Chavez (4) one.