Photo By Steve Carter: Isaac Palmer drives in for 2 of his game-high 22 points in a 74-51 victory over Douglas on Thursday.
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – A trio of long balls from Christian Carter and Isaac Palmer helped Thatcher go on a 13-2 run to close the second quarter and turn a 25-25 tie into a 38-27 halftime lead.
The Thatcher Eagles (1-1 overall) never looked back after that and made 11 3-pointers on the night as they dispatched the Douglas Bulldogs on Thursday, 74-51.
“That’s fun basketball,” said Thatcher head boys basketball coach Kyle Hull. “That was fun. Credit to our guys (for) the way we’ve ended . . . Hats off to them for just trusting it and doing it. They played great together as a team tonight.”
Thatcher (1-1 overall) will have nearly two weeks of practice before their next game. The Eagles don’t play again until Dec. 12 and then it will be on the road at Show Low. Thatcher will then play at (Tucson) Sabino on Dec. 14. Fans won’t see Thatcher play basketball locally until the Eastern Arizona Holiday Basketball Tournament at EAC on Dec. 27-29.
Thatcher 74 Douglas 51
Thatcher was led by senior Christian Carter (21 points) and sophomore Isaac Palmer (22 points) who set the pace all night for the team effort from the Eagles. Carter and Isaac Palmer both had 5 points scoring from inside and outside to make up about half of Thatcher’s 21 first-quarter points.
Junior Wyatt Nicholas (7 points) played big, especially in the first half, and was a beast on defense and the boards. He went for 4 of his 7 points in the quarter and scored on a press break and a nice dime from Carter for an and-1 opportunity. (He would miss the free throw but the offensive rebound was eventually scored as a 3-pointer for Carter.)
The Bulldogs kept it close early on as Diego Lopez (19 points) showcased his skills on several plays, including a few isolation plays, and a deep ball at the end of the first to keep the Bulldogs close but still down to the Eagles, 21-17.
Thatcher went back to the long ball at the start of the second to increase its lead but then the Bulldogs went off on them.
Lopez split the defense with a Euro-step for an and-1 play and sophomore Ryan Felix (4 points) stole the ball and went coast-to-coast. Another steal and bucket from senior Luis Trahin-Quijada (9 points) and a Felix free throw tied the game at 25 apiece with 3:44 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles responded by going on a 13-2 run to end the half starting with breaking the press with a layup by sophomore Chad Johnson (11 points) and then Duncan scoring down low.
“I liked our press break,” Hull said. “We got some easy buckets off and we got them out of it.”
Then it was airborne time as Carter hit back-to-back 3’s, and Palmer nailed one just before the buzzer to put Thatcher up 11 at the half, 38-27.
Carter picked up in the third where he left off and found Johnson on the pick-and-roll for the score.
Douglas battled back with an acrobatic shot by junior Elmer Maytorena (14 points) to cut it to 45-27, but that would be as close as they would get.
Isaac Palmer scored on an offensive rebound putback and then pushed the ball off the defensive rebound and Johnson found senior Landon Duncan (10 points) for an and-1 opportunity.
Then Carter gathered his miss and took it to the hole against four defenders and scored on a reverse layup. He then grabbed a loose ball off the defense by Daniel Palmer (2 points) and pushed it ahead to Issac Palmer, who finished it off to put Thatcher up 20, 51-31, with 3:24 left in the third.
“I felt like, overall, the ball moved well and we got good looks,” Hull said.
The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs in every quarter and highlights in the fourth included Wyatt Nicholas securing a loose ball and passing it ahead for a fast break layup by Johnson and a slick move by Carter in the paint reminiscent of NBA point guards.
Isaac Palmer continued to clean the glass on offense and defense, and the quarter was bookended by long balls by Carter, who hit the nail in the coffin with about 45 seconds left to play to make the final score 74-51.
“Christian (Carter), he’s the opposite size of Bradley (Curtis, last year’s 3A South Player of the Year and 3A Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year) but man he plays big, and he’s got a big heart. He plays almost the whole game and gives it all. He’s a good mentor for our young kids also, so (I’m) looking forward to a good season.”
Thatcher will next travel to visit the Show Low Cougars (3-0 overall) of the 3A East Region on Tuesday, Dec. 12, starting at 7 p.m. Thatcher will then take on fellow 3A South Region member Sabino (0-6 overall) in Tucson on Thursday, Dec. 14, starting at 7 p.m. in a non-region game.
Click here to see the Gila Herald’s Photo Album of the game.
