Photo By Steve Carter: Safford’s Izaiah Alvarado (3) picks Chad Johnson’s pocket. Safford held court and defeated Thatcher, 67-54 on Tuesday.
Bulldogs end multiple-year home skid versus Eagles
“We don’t have any secret sauce. They just work super hard.”
Safford Head Boys Basketball Coach Danny Smith
By Raymundo Frasquillo
SAFFORD – It has been several years since the Safford Bulldogs reigned over the Thatcher Eagles on the hardwood during the regular season, or in Norma Bellamy Gymnasium. Still, they got it done with a senior-laden starting line-up. The Class of 2024 members were eighth graders the last time Thatcher lost in Safford. The final score on Jan. 9 in the 3A South Region paring was Safford 67, Thatcher 54.
“This team has a lot of goals and they’re all tiny little goals,” Smith said. “They’re about being the scrappiest team, creating turnovers, steals, defensive and offensive rebounding; We haven’t talked one time about scoring a bucket. We haven’t talked about scoring stats this year. And those are their goals that they came up with at our retreat at the beginning of the season. And I love it. And we just review them before a game. We don’t have any secret sauce. They just work super hard.”
This season, the teams are 1-1 versus one another with Thatcher slipping past Safford 57-51 for the boys’ 60th Eastern Arizona Holiday Tourney title (Dec. 29, 2023). Safford last topped Thatcher 63-51 for the 25th EAC tourney title (Dec. 30, 1987).
The two Graham County teams have met 24 times in the previous 10 seasons (2014-23) with Thatcher having marks of 18-6 overall, 2-0 region, 2-1 section, and 7-3 in Norma Bellamy Gymnasium. Safford’s previous home win was 63-61 (Dec. 6, 2019), their previous win in Thatcher was 65-62 (Nov. 28, 2018), and their previous win at EAC was 72-53 (Dec. 19, 2017) during the second round.
Safford (12-3 overall, 7-0 seeding, 2-0 region) goes on the road for its next two games this week, at 5-7 New Mexico Silver on Wednesday, Jan. 10 and at Tucson Tanque Verde (8-7, 6-3, 0-0) on Friday, Jan. 12, while Thatcher (11-4, 2-2, 1-1) welcomes Tucson Sabino (4-13, 2-8, 1-0) on Jan. 12.
The Danny Smith-coached Safford Bulldogs have a 61-47 (912-712) average score per game or a 14-point margin per game. Meanwhile, the Kyle Hull-coached Thatcher Eagles have an average score of 59-49 (882-741) per game or a 10-point margin.
No. 9 Safford – 67, No. 27 Thatcher – 54
The No. 9 Bulldogs led 17-11 following the first quarter, 35-30 at halftime, and 52-42 heading into the fourth quarter. The teams both scored in double digits during all four quarters, 16 total long-distance shots were made, and Safford capped the evening with a 15-11 fourth-quarter outing.
Thatcher led twice in the first quarter, 3-2 on a Christian Carter 3-pointer with 29 seconds elapsed and 11-10 on a Carter field goal with 1:43 left in the quarter, but never again. The Eagles came within one, 36-37 on an Isaac Palmer 3-pointer with 58 seconds elapsed in the third quarter, yet could not tie or get closer.
Safford went on a 10-7 run to reach a double-figure margin, 29-18, on a pair of Brayden Bowman free throws with 3:37 left in the second quarter, but Thatcher countered with a 12-6 run to get within five at halftime as all five starters had their say with their made shots.
The Bulldogs again reached a double-digit margin to stay, 50-40 on a Nathaniel Quintero field goal with 1:48 left in the third quarter. Three Nephi Fox 3-pointers gave the host its largest margins of the game, 14 (58-44) with 6:44 left to play, 14 (61-47) 29 seconds later, and 15 (64-49) with 3:44 left.
On the evening, Safford totaled 26 field goals (six 3-pointers) plus 9-13 free throws while Thatcher had 20 field goals (10 3-pointers) plus 4-7 free throws.
Seniors Brayden Bowman (45), Nephi Fox (35), and JoJo Ruelas (5) contributed 21 points on eight field goals plus 5-7 free throws, 17 on six field goals (five 3-pointers) plus 1-1 free throws, and 17 on seven field goals plus 3-4 free throws, respectively. Seniors Izaiah Alvarado (3) and Nathaniel Quintero (22) added 5 points apiece, and Cole Yentch (4) had 2 points.
Smith complimented Brayden Bowman’s play in the paint, which he described as being relentless.
“That’s how he plays every game and I’m so happy and so proud of him,” Smith said. “He has a will that’s unstoppable underneath the basket,” Smith said.
For Thatcher senior Christian Carter (32) had a team and game-high 23 points on eight field goals (five 3-pointers) plus 2-2 free throws and sophomore Isaac Palmer (33) 16 on five field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 2-2 free throws. Sophomore Chad Johnson (30) added 5 points, junior Wyatt Nicholas (21) had 4, and junior Brett Jones (3), Dylan Riney (31), and Bronson Stringfellow (24) each had 2 points apiece.
On Dec. 29 during the 57-51 Thatcher win, Safford totaled 16 field goals (1 3-pointer) plus 4-7 free throws while Thatcher had 22 field goals (five 3-pointers) plus 8-16 free throws.
A slow start by designated home team Safford, scoring in single digits during the first two quarters, allowed the visiting Thatcher Eagles to take a 24-13 advantage at halftime. The Bulldogs returned with a 38-33 second-half effort, but it was not enough to offset the deficit. Thatcher led 12-8 following the first quarter and 43-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Eagles enjoyed a double-digit advantage early in the fourth quarter, leading by as much as 15, 51-36 with 1:35 elapsed. The Bulldogs came within three twice, 50-53 with 1:51 and 51-54 with 10 seconds left, but could not tie or take the lead. Thatcher added 3-4 free throws in the closing eight seconds to account for the final score.
“Credit these kids, they work super hard,” Smith said. “I don’t coach effort. They make coaches look brilliant . . . Thatcher’s a good team. Christian Carter – such a great player, such a great, respectful young man . . . I’m really proud of him and the season he is having. I’m proud of Thatcher and the season they’re having. They are going to have a great season. We’re in the same region, right? So, we’re going to try and get 1 and 2 in our region, so we’ll see what happens. How great is this for Gila Valley basketball?”
Jon Johnson contributed to this report.
