Morenci boys atop South Region standings
By Raymundo Frasquillo
MORENCI – The Ruben Leonard-coached Morenci Wildcats host No. 45 Tombstone on Thursday, Jan. 30, for a 7 p.m. tip-off. But first, the No. 7 Wildcats travel to No. 33 Benson on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The pairings are both for region play.
Other South Region pairings this week (Jan. 27-Feb. 1) include No. 30 Willcox at No. 51 San Miguel and No. 38 Santa Rita at Tombstone on Jan. 28; and No. 17 Desert Christian at Willcox, Benson at San Miguel, and No. 47 Saint Augustine at No. 27 Bisbee on Jan. 30.

Non-region pairings include Tombstone at Patagonia on Monday, Jan. 27; Miami at Saint Augustine on Jan. 28; Duncan at Santa Rita on Wednesday, Jan. 29; Bisbee at Tucson’s The Gregory School and Gilbert Classical at Saint Augustine on Friday, Jan. 31; and Sells Baboquivari at Desert Christian on Feb. 1;
Remaining region contests for next week (Feb. 3-8) include Santa Rita at Morenci, Desert Christian at Saint Augustine, Bisbee at San Miguel on Feb. 3; Tombstone at Saint Augustine on Feb. 5; and Morenci at Bisbee, Benson at Desert Christian, and Santa Rita at Willcox on Feb. 6;
Non-region games include Duncan at Willcox and Tombstone at Elfrida Valley Union on Feb. 3; Phoenix North Valley Christian and Patagonia at Willcox on Feb. 4; and Morenci at Thatcher on Feb. 5.
2A South Region Standings
Region standing through Jan. 24 were Morenci (21-3 overall, 12-1 seeding, 5-0 region) first, Tucson Desert Christian (22-3, 12-2, 4-1) second, Benson (8-16, 6-8, 4-1) third, Bisbee (13-10, 7-4, 3-2) fourth, Willcox (12-11, 7-6, 2-3) fifth, Tucson Santa Rita (5-12, 5-9, 2-3) sixth, Tombstone (7-14, 4-9, 2-4) seventh, Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic (7-11, 6-8, 1-4) eight, and Tucson San Miguel Catholic (3-11, 3-11, 0-5) ninth.
To date, region wins have been for Morenci over Tombstone (93-50, Dec. 16), San Miguel (76-34, Jan. 7), Saint Augustine (62-42, Jan. 16), Desert Christian (58-44, Jan. 21), and Willcox (61-42, Jan. 23); Desert Christian over Bisbee (66-60, Dec. 19), Tombstone (70-50, Jan. 7), San Miguel (57-21, Jan. 15), and Santa Rita (71-43, Jan. 23); Benson over Willcox (49-46, Jan, 7), Tombstone (71-40, Jan. 10), Santa Rita (71-54, Jan. 16), and Saint Augustine (55-24, Jan. 21); Bisbee over Tombstone (74-43, Jan. 7), Santa Rita (53-37, Jan. 21), and Benson (58-55, Jan. 23); Willcox over Saint Augustine (51-49, Jan. 9) and Bisbee (50-44, Jan. 16); Santa Rita over Saint Augustine (43-38 OT, Jan. 7) and San Miguel (65-50, Jan. 9); Tombstone over San Miguel (65-53, Jan. 21) and Willcox (61-52, Jan. 24); and Saint Augustine over San Miguel (78-70, Jan. 23).

2A East Region Standings
Region standing through Jan. 24 were Gilbert San Tan Charter (12-9 overall, 10-4 seeding, 4-0 region) first, Pima (22-3, 12-2, 5-0) second, Gilbert Classical (12-8, 9-5, 3-2) third, San Carlos (18-8, 10-5, 3-2) fourth, Miami (15-9, 8-5, 3-2) fifth, Chandler Lincoln Prep (10-10, 3-9, 2-2) sixth, Arete Prep (9-11, 5-7, 0-4) seventh, Gilbert Leading Edge (9-10, 3-8, 0-4) eight, and Chandler Prep (1-16, 1-11, 0-4) ninth.
Thus far, region wins have been for San Tan Charter over San Carlos (86-35, Jan. 13) Chandler Prep (102-34, Jan. 16), Arete Prep (87-29, Jan. 21), and Leading Edge (104-39, Jan. 23); Pima over Chandler Prep (45-31, Jan. 10), Arete Prep (71-40, Jan. 13), Leading Edge (52-40, Jan. 16), Gilbert Classical (47-30, Jan. 21), and Miami (48-19, Jan. 24); Gilbert Classical over Miami (56-26, Jan, 10), San Carlos (57-54, Jan. 16), and Arete Prep (60-38, Jan. 24); San Carlos over Arete Prep (65-53, Jan. 10), Chandler Prep (58-50, Jan. 21), and Lincoln Prep (81-40, Jan. 24); Miami over Chandler Prep (59-52, Jan. 13), Lincoln Prep (56-47, Jan. 16), and Leading Edge (57-54, Jan. 21); and Lincoln Prep over Leading Edge (49-41, Jan. 10) and Gilbert Classical (45-44, Jan. 13).
East Region games this week (Jan. 27-Feb. 1) are Gilbert Classical at San Tan Charter, Lincoln Prep at Pima, Leading Edge at San Carlos, and Chandler Prep at Arete Prep on Jan. 28; and Miami at San Tan Charter, San Carlos at Pima, Arete Prep at Lincoln Prep, and Chandler Prep at Leading Edge on Jan. 31.
Non-region games include Miami at Saint Augustine on Jan. 28; Chandler Prep at Glendale Leading Edge on Jan. 29; Miami at Saint Johns, Lincoln Prep at Glendale Prep, and Arete Prep at North Phoenix Prep on Jan. 30; Gilbert Classical at Saint Augustine on Jan. 31; and New Mexico Silver at Pima on Feb. 1.
East Region games next week include Lincoln Prep at San Tan Charter, Gilbert Classical at Chandler Prep, Miami at San Carlos, and Leading Edge at Arete Prep on Feb. 3; and Pima at San Tan Charter, Gilbert Classical at Leading Edge, Miami at Arete Prep, and Lincoln Prep at Chandler Prep on Feb. 6.
Non-region games include Eloy Santa Cruz at Miami and Arete Prep at Phoenix Basis on Feb. 5.
2A State Rankings
The Top 24 of 53 teams following the regular season’s conclusion will be participating in the post-season. An open tourney for Classes 1A-3A begins on Feb. 12, and the losers are eligible to be part of the 16-team, four-round tourney. The Play-in Round follows on Feb. 14, and the first round on Feb. 17 at the higher seed.
The state-wide rankings on Jan. 24 had Phoenix Country Day School (12-1 seeding, 18.9568 rating) as No. 1, Gilbert San Tan Charter (9-4, 16.9650) No. 2, Arizona Lutheran (8-1, 15.9642), No. 3, Phoenix North Valley Christian (9-1, 15.4840) No. 4, Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep (11-3, 15.3285) No. 5, Pima (10-2, 12.1405) No. 6, Morenci (12-1, 11.5135) No. 7, and Fountain Hills (7-4, 9.6201) No. 8.
Scottsdale Christian (8-5, 8.5920) was No. 9, San Carlos (9-4, 7.4848) No. 10, Flagstaff Northland Prep (9-4, 7.2133) No. 11, Bullhead City Mohave Accelerated (9-6, 5.4962) No. 12, Phoenix Madison Highland Prep (11-3, 5.4792) No. 13, Kingman Academy (9-4, 5.4498) No. 14, Tempe Prep (10-3, 4.8736) was No. 15, and Glendale Prep (8-6, 4.7071) No. 16.
Tucson Desert Christian (11-2, 4.2432) was No. 17, Scottsdale Prep (8-6, 4.1037) No. 18, Camp Verde (6-6, 3.1650) No. 19, Phoenix Veritas Prep (8-7, 2.1413) No. 20, Phoenix Christian (3-6, 2.1246) No. 21, Saint Johns (7-6, 1.7440) No. 22, Laveen Heritage (7-5, 1.4671) No. 23, and Gilbert Arete Prep (5-6, 0.9779) No. 24.
The initial rankings on Jan. 14 had Phoenix Country Day (8-1 seeding, 16.6051 rating) was No. 1, Arizona Lutheran (6-1, 15.8808) No. 2, San Tan Charter (7-4, 15.7923) No. 3, Rancho Solano Prep (11-2, 15.7721) No. 4, North Valley Christian (7-1, 13.6965) No. 5, Pima (7-1, 12.6260) No. 6, Scottsdale Christian (6-3, 10.0737) No. 7, and Morenci (7-1, 9.4410) No. 8.

Tempe Prep (9-1, 8.5946) was No. 9, San Carlos (7-3, 7.8349) No. 10, Glendale Prep (6-4, 7.3871) No. 11, Fountain Hills (5-4, 7.3807) No. 12, Madison Highland (9-2, 7.3064) No. 13, Northland Prep (6-3, 6.4917) No. 14, Mohave Accelerated (7-4, 5.3614) No. 15, and Kingman Academy (6-3, 4.5248) No. 16.
Phoenix Veritas Prep (6-4, 4.2917) was No. 17, Horizon Honors (4-4, 3.3571) No. 18, Eloy Santa Cruz (7-2, 2.8856) No. 19, Desert Christian (7-1, 2.8321) No. 20, Phoenix Christian (2-5, 2.7619) No. 21, Arete Prep (5-5, 2.2035) No. 22, Scottsdale Prep (4-4, 1.9759) No. 23, and Saint Johns (4-4, 0.8248) No. 24.
The state rankings for the other seven South Region teams were Bisbee (7-4, minus 1.5781) No. 27, Willcox (7-5, minus 2.1536) No. 30, Benson (6-8, minus 3. 9248) No. 33, Tucson Santa Rita (5-9, minus 8.6795) No. 38, Tombstone (3-9, minus 12.0092) No. 45, Saint Augustine (5-8, minus 12.8132) No. 47, and Tucson San Miguel Catholic (3-11, minus 16.4535) No. 51.
During the initial rankings, Desert Christian (7-1, 2.8321) No. 20, Benson (4-5, 0.8754) was No. 31, Bisbee (5-3, 1-1), Bisbee (5-4, minus 4.0003) No. 34, Santa Rita (5-5, minus 4.5329) No. 35, Saint Augustine (3-5, minus 12.9717) No. 47, San Miguel (2-8, minus 13.8512) No. 48, and Tombstone (1-8, minus 14.5361) No. 50.
No. 33 Benson Bobcats (8-16)
Benson (8-16 overall, 6-8 seeding, 4-1 2A South Region) is averaging a score of 50-54 (694-756)) per seeding game or a 4-point deficit. The Alex Montijo-coached Bobcats have seeding wins over Lincoln Prep (52-43, Dec. 5), Willcox (49-46, Jan. 7), Saint David (56-55, Jan. 9), Tombstone (71-40, Jan. 10), Santa Rita (71-54, Jan. 16), and Saint Augustine (55-24, Jan. 21). The losses are to Pima (28-59, Dec. 3), Thatcher (42-71, Dec. 6), Tucson’s The Gregory School (50-53, Dec. 11), Tucson Tanque Verde (43-69, Dec. 17), Globe (32-57, Dec. 21), Sells Baboquivari (48-67, Jan. 14), Morenci (42-60, Jan. 15), and Bisbee (55-58, Jan. 23).
In addition, the Bobcats went 1-5 during their 3-day tourney 1-3 during the 2-day Payson tourney. Benson defeated Tombstone (53-41, Dec. 13) and San Luis (68-24, Jan. 3) plus fell to Sahuarita (64-79, Dec. 12), Douglas (50-72, Dec. 12), Sells Baboquivari (37-45, Dec. 13), Desert Christian (51-63), Saint David (37-49, Dec. 14), San Tan Valley San Tan Foothills (41-70), Scottsdale Christian (23-57), and Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain (44-53). The Bobcats are averaging an overall score of 48-55 (1,162-1,309) per game or a 7-point deficit.
Benson has an 11-member team of five seniors, three juniors, and three sophomores. The roster includes seniors Andrew Cordova (23), David Harris (22), Mason McIntyre (10), Harley Vanwormer (11), and Domonik Villa (4); juniors Kellen Deskins (14), Dawson Judd (12), and Ruben Navarro (1); and sophomores Luke Chapman (3), Takeo Montijo (33), and Jason Santo (13).
The Bobcats are competing in the 9-member 2A South Region with Bisbee, Morenci, Tombstone, Willcox, and Tucson schools Desert Christian, Saint Augustine Catholic, San Miguel Catholic, and Santa Rita.
No. 45 Tombstone Yellow Jackets (7-14)

Willcox (7-14 overall, 4-9 seeding, 2-4 2A South Region) is averaging a score of 49-59 (634-763) per seeding game or a 10-point deficit. The Tom Heck-coached Yellow Jackets have seeding wins over Elfrida Valley Union (71-24, Dec. 17), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (71-39, Jan. 16), San Miguel (65-53, Jan. 21), and Willcox (61-52, Jan. 24) along with losses to Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (39-83, Dec. 2), Bisbee (42-38, Dec. 6), Desert Christian (35-60, Dec. 3), Saint David (33-56, Dec. 6), Morenci (50-93, Dec. 16), Desert Christian (50-70, Jan. 7), Bisbee (43-74, Jan. 9), Benson (30-71, Jan. 10), and Willcox (44-50, Jan. 14).
Additionally, the Yellow Jackets went 3-1 during The Gregory School 3-day tourney and 0-4 during their own 3-day tourney. The wins were over San Simon (42-23, Nov. 25), Saint Augustine (48-43, Nov. 25), and Nogales Lourdes Catholic (53-22, Nov. 26) while the losses were to Desert Christian (12-56, Nov. 27), Bisbee (51-61, Dec. 12), Desert Christian (36-50, Dec. 13), Benson (41-53, Dec. 13), and Sahuarita (0-1, Dec. 4). Tombstone is averaging an overall score of 44-51 (917-1,072) per game or a 7-point deficit.
The Yellow Jackets are competing in the 9-member 2A South Region with Benson, Bisbee, Morenci, Willcox, and Tucson schools Saint Augustine Catholic, Desert Christian, San Miguel Catholic, and Santa Rita.
No. 7 Morenci Wildcats (21-3)
Morenci (21-3 overall, 12-1 seeding, 5-0 region) is averaging a 63-45 (820-586) score per game or an 18-point margin. The Ruben Leonard-coached Wildcats have seeding wins over Tucson Santa Rita (73-40, Dec. 2),
Tucson Empire (75-43, Dec. 5), Tombstone (93-50, Dec. 16), San Carlos (50-47, Dec. 17), San Miguel (76-34, Jan. 7), Willcox (57-43, Jan. 10), Round Valley (54-51, Jan. 13), Benson (60-42, Jan. 15), Saint Augustine (69-53, Jan. 16), Saint Johns (57-45, Jan. 18), Desert Christian (58-44, Jan. 21), and Willcox (61-42, Jan. 23) as well as a loss was to Pima (37-52, Jan. 9).
Additionally, the Wildcats went 5-1 during the 3-day Eager Round Valley Tournament and 4-1 during the 61st Eastern Arizona Holiday Tournament. The wins were over Fort Thomas (69-54, Dec. 12), Lakeside Blue Ridge (59-42, Dec. 12), Duncan (64-54, Dec. 13), Whiteriver Alchesay (57-51, Dec. 13), Fort Thomas (60-49, Dec. 14), Tucson Pueblo (82-58, Dec. 19), (73-55, Safford Dec. 19), Fort Thomas (60-59, Dec. 20), and Thatcher (54-45, Dec. 20). The losses were to Holbrook (62-68, Dec. 14) and Pima (43-62). Morenci is averaging an overall score of 63-49 (1,503-1,183) per game or a 14-point margin.
The Wildcats have a 10-member team of four seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, and a freshman. The roster includes seniors Noah Chavez (10), Emilio Garcia (22), Yedidia Luputa Kanyinda (21), and Christopher Lopez (23); juniors Abraham Cortez (24) and Adrian McCallum (25); sophomores Aymen Abdulqadar (11), Damian Espino (35), and Adrian McCabe (12); and freshman Sebastian McCallum (32).
Morenci is competing in the 9-member 2A South Region with Benson, Bisbee, Tombstone, Willcox, and Tucson schools Desert Christian, Saint Augustine Catholic, San Miguel Catholic, and Santa Rita.
Morenci – 61, Willcox – 42
Morenci led 13-10 following the opening quarter, 20-19 at halftime, and 42-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
A 14-8 run during the first 5:20 of the second half expanded the margin to seven, 34-27, and a “suffocating press” unleashed during its final two minutes led to four turnovers with corresponding high percentage lay-ups for the 16-point Morenci advantage.
The visitors led by 21 twice, 47-26 at 6:46 and 58-37 at 3:38, and by 22 once, 61-39, with 1:38 remaining to be played in the fourth quarter. Willcox came within 14, 37-51 on a Gabe Salas 3-pointer with 4:32 left in the game.

For the game, Morenci netted 24 field goals (six 3-pointers) plus 7-10 free throws compared to 19 field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 2-4 free throws by Willcox.
Abraham Cortez paced the visiting scorers with 18 points on seven field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 1-4 free throws, followed by Noah Chavez with 14 points on six field goals (two 3-pointers), and Aymen Abdulqadar with 13 on four field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 4-4 free throws. Adrian McCallum added eight points, and both Yedidia Luputa Kanyinda and Christopher Lopez four apiece.
For Willcox, senior Caden Hooper totaled 19 points on nine field goals plus 1-2 free throws. Senior Avery Edington added five points, sophomores Emiliano Chavez and Jahir Reyes four apiece, senior Gabe Salas three, and senior Jovani Rodriguez, sophomore JD Whetten, and freshman Tucker Stamback two each.
Morenci – 58, Desert Christian – 44
Trailing 25-27 at halftime, the host Wildcats returned from the break with a 17-4 third-quarter effort to go ahead to stay. Morenci scored four field goals to lead 33-27 midway through the third quarter and added nine more points, while Desert Christian was limited to a field goal plus 2-2 free throws. Five different Wildcats contributed scoring during the 8-minute span as Cortez got six points, Lopez four, McCallum three, and both Chavez and Abdulqadar two apiece.
The Eagles came within four twice, 38-42 with 5:06 and 41-45 with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter, but no closer.
Morenci totaled 24 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 6-13 free throws compared to 16 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 8-15 free throws by Desert Christian.
Cortez netted a team-high 14 points on five field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 3-4 free throws, Chavez 12 on five field goals (two 3-pointers), and Lopez 10 on five field goals plus 0-3 free throws. McCallum and Abdulqadar both added eight points, Kanyinda six.
For Desert Christian, juniors Cooper Payne and Tyson Dobbins had 15 and 13 points on six field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 1-3 free throws and on five field goals plus 3-4 free throws, respectively. Junior Kyan Garang added five points, sophomore Matthew Jaegers four, junior Logan Benson three, and both junior Colt Schmuker and sophomore Fernando Ayala two each.