Will host pool play opener on Valentine’s Day
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – The Thatcher Eagles took a shot in the mouth from the visiting 2A Morenci Wildcats on Wednesday but hit a flurry of points late in the fourth to pull away 72-54.
“They’re finding the dog in them,” said Thatcher head coach Kyle Hull. “I love it.”
Isaac Palmer led the way for Thatcher, hitting 15 of his game-high 31 points in a pivotal third quarter. Isaac shot seven 3-pointers (three in the fourth to close the game) and 16 rebounds.
“What a game for our fans (and) for our kids,” Hull said. “It was fun.”
Isaac is a team leader in most statistical categories, and this last week, he filled the sheet. He went for double-doubles against Safford, hitting 28 points and 19 rebounds, and Tucson Empire, going for 44 points and 25 rebounds. He also had a 17 points 7 rebound game against Tucson Tanque Verde.
Thatcher fell in its last regular season game on the road to 3A South Region Champion Sabino on Thursday, 74-98.
The Eagles are ranked No. 16 in 3A and will enter the state tournament in Pool Play on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, with a home game against No. 19 Highland Prep.
The Wildcats are ranked No. 8 in 2A and will enter the state tournament in the play-in game on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, with a home game against No. 23 Scottsdale Prep.
Pima boys basketball will start the Copper Division Open Tournament as an 11 seed and will face No. 6 San Charter at San Tan Charter on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. Pima fell to San Tan Charter in its last regular-season game on Feb. 6, 54-68. If Pima loses, they will revert to the 2A State Tournament.
Thatcher 72 Morenci 54
Morenci came out en fuego, and its perimeter players hit three consecutive 3-pointers on their way to a 13-2 opening lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
“That’s what we expect all the time,” Hull said. “Nobody lays off. We get the best of everybody. It’s good because it brings out the best in our kids as well.”
Aymen Abdulqader led the way for Morenci with 17 points, followed by Noah Chavez with 14 points, and Yedidia Laputa did his damage in the paint to the tune of 11 points.
Isaac Palmer was quiet – for him – in the first but got a clean look to fall for 3 with about a minute left in the quarter.
Chad Johnson (14 points) assisted Dennis Palmer (4 points) and hit a runner high off the glass as time expired to close the gap with Morenci, 14-9.
Johnson continued his offensive onslaught in the second, hitting Wyatt Nicholas (6 points) with a nice pass off the pick and roll for the bucket and then nailing two shots from deep.
Yedidia Laputa helped keep Morenci in the lead with a couple of rebound putbacks, and Abdulqader nailed a 3 as Morenci went into halftime up 32-29.
Then, the third quarter happened, and Isaac Palmer took over. First, he hit a 3-pointer off an inbounds play. Then, he put Adrian MacCallum (5 points) on skates and nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Johnson gave Thatcher its first lead of the night with a spin move in the paint, putting the Eagles up 41-40 with 2:24 left in the third.
McCallum answered right back with a 3-pointer, but then Johnson found Isaac with a nice assist flip over his head to even the score, and the two hooked up again on a fast break as Johnson waited for Isaac to be in position. Palmer put it away with the foul to retake the lead. Isaac then snared a rebound put for his third score in a row.
After Noah Chavez cut Thatcher’s lead to 1 with a long ball, the Eagles ran a screen for Isaac, and he nailed his third triple of the quarter to put Thatcher up 50-46 at the end of the third.
It was the same in the fourth as Isaac drilled three more 3-pointers to finish with seven on the night for 31 points.
Morenci utilized its press defense to attempt to get back into the game and had some early success. However, Thatcher started breaking it for easy buckets, and Stringfellow (15 points) hit the capper 3-pointer to put the exclamation on the night. Thatcher pulled away late to defeat Morenci 72-54.
