By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – After hitting 13 3’s against Douglas last week, Thatcher could only muster one against Pima on Wednesday night.
The Pima defense held Thatcher to single digits in three out of the four quarters and just four field goals in the second half as the Roughriders beat up the Eagles 44-28.
“The one thing we said we had to do was lock up a few key guys that kind of run them,” said Pima head coach Cliff Thompson. “Listen, their whole team can shoot the 3, their whole team can, and we knew we had to defend the 3-point line . . . I’m just really excited for our team and the way we came out and defended tonight.”
Thatcher’s gym was rocking, and the visiting Pima crowd and student section tossed out any home-court advantage and made it a playoff-type atmosphere.
The Eagles were hot at the start, and Wyatt Nicholas flashed to the bucket on a pick-and-roll and gave the extra pass to Chad Johnson to break the ice. However, it would be Thatcher’s only lead in the game.

Pima immediately came back with 3-pointers from Rhett Hughes and Keegan Corona and never relinquished their lead.
Corona had a big night offensively, utilizing a high pick-and-roll action to give him options on the drive. The junior guard got his front court in action with assists off the roll, went to the bucket himself, and hit the jumper for the trifecta to propel him to a game-high 14 points.
“That (pick-and-roll) is a new development and it’s something that we’re going to kind of look at a little more,” Thompson said. “We need to get Keegan in space where he can make things happen and that’s kind of what happened.”
Pima led 12-6 after the first quarter, but Isaac Palmer had a big quarter to keep Thatcher close. Palmer scored on a fast break after stealing the ball; he got a rebound put back and hit a 3-pointer. Then, with just under two minutes to play in the half, Palmer stole the ball and passed it to Ryan Jones, who scored through contact to make it a two-point game, 18-16.

The Riders went right back to Corona, who hit a mid-range jumper off the pick-and-roll, and then Hughes hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give Pima a 23-16 lead going into halftime.
Pima clamped down on the defense even harder in the second half, and Thatcher only made two field goals each quarter.
In the meantime, Pima was still scoring in the half-court off the pick-and-roll, and its frontcourt was getting second-chance points from offensive rebounding.
The combination allowed Pima to dominate the second half, giving Thatcher a 44-28 victory.
Corona led Pima with 14 points, Charlie Richardson and Rhett Hughes with 10 points each, Joel Mattice with 8, and Preston Russell with 2 points.
Isaac Palmer led Thatcher with 8 points, followed by Braden Bryce with 6, Bronson Stringfellow and Wyatt Nicholas with 4 points each, Chad Johnson with 3, Ryan Jones with 2, and Daniel Palmer with 1 point.
“I hope this gives our team some confidence,” Thompson said. “They (Thatcher) kind of stuck it to us last year. Hopefully, it gives us some confidence moving forward.”

Pima will next host Leading Edge Academy – Gilbert (2-5 conference, 3-5 overall) on Thursday night, starting at 7 p.m. The Riders will also host 3A Tucson Pusch Ridge (1-4 conference, 7-9 overall) on Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m.
Thatcher will next hit the road to face Valley Christian (7-0 conference, 11-3 overall) – the No. 1-ranked team in the 3A Conference – on Friday, starting at 7 p.m.