South Region showdown looms ahead in Morenci
By Raymundo Frasquillo
MORENCI – The Ruben Leonard-coached Morenci Wildcats welcome No. 20 Tucson Desert Christian on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The Wildcats travel to No. 31 Willcox on Thursday, Jan. 23. The pairings are both for region play.
Other South Region pairings this week (Jan. 20-25) include Santa Rita hosting Bisbee in McHale Center on Monday, Jan. 20; Benson hosting Saint Augustine; Tombstone visiting San Miguel on Jan. 21; Benson visiting Bisbee; Santa Rita visiting Desert Christian; Saint Augustine hosting San Miguel on Jan. 23; and Willcox hosting Tombstone on Friday, Jan. 24.
Non-region pairings include Saint Augustine visiting Tucson Catalina on Jan. 24 and Desert Christian visiting Tucson’s The Gregory School on Saturday, Jan. 25.
East Region games are San Tan Charter at Arete Prep, Pima at Gilbert Classical, Miami at Leading Edge, and Chandler Prep at San Carlos on Jan. 21; and San Tan Charter at Leading Edge, Pima at Miami, Arete Prep at Gilbert Classical, and San Carlos at Lincoln Prep on Thursday, Jan. 24.
Non-region games include Lincoln Prep at Cicero Prep on Jan. 20; Lincoln Prep at Phoenix Veritas Prep on Wednesday, Jan. 22; and Pima at Arizona Lutheran and San Carlos at Phoenix Country Day School on Jan. 25.
2A South Region Standings
Region standing through Jan. 18 was Morenci (10-1 seeding, 3-0 region) first, Tucson Desert Christian (10-1, 3-0) second, Benson (5-7, 3-0) third, Willcox (7-4, 2-1) fourth, Tucson Santa Rita (5-7, 2-1) fifth, Bisbee (5-4, 1-2) sixth, Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic (4-7, 0-3) seventh, Tombstone (2-9, 0-4) eight, and Tucson San Miguel Catholic (3-9, 0-3) ninth.

To date, region wins have been for Morenci over Tombstone (93-50, Dec. 16), San Miguel (76-34, Jan. 7), and Saint Augustine (62-42, Jan. 16); Desert Christian over Bisbee (66-60, Dec. 19), Tombstone (70-50, Jan. 7), and San Miguel (57-21, Jan. 15); Benson over Willcox (49-46, Jan, 7), Tombstone (71-40, Jan. 10), and Santa Rita (71-54, Jan. 16); 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); and Bisbee over Tombstone (74-43, Jan. 7);
2A East Region Standings

Region standing through Jan. 18 were Gilbert San Tan Charter (10-9 overall, 8-4 seeding, 2-0 region) first, Pima (19-3, 9-2, 3-0) second, Gilbert Classical (11-7, 8-4, 2-1) third, Miami (7-4, 2-1) fourth, Chandler Lincoln Prep (10-7, 3-6, 2-1) fifth, San Carlos (16-7, 8-4, 1-2) sixth, Arete Prep (9-9, 5-5, 0-2) seventh, Gilbert Leading Edge (9-8, 3-6, 0-2) eight, and Chandler Prep (1-15, 1-10, 0-3) ninth.
Thus far, region wins have been for San Tan Charter over San Carlos (86-35, Jan. 13) and Chandler Prep (102-34, Jan. 16), Pima over Chandler Prep (45-31, Jan. 10), Arete Prep (71-40, Jan. 13), and Leading Edge (52-40, Jan. 16); Gilbert Classical over Miami (56-26, Jan, 10) and San Carlos (57-54, Jan. 16); Miami over Chandler Prep (59-52, Jan. 13) and Lincoln Prep (56-47, Jan. 16); Lincoln Prep over Leading Edge (49-41, Jan. 10) and Gilbert Classical (45-44, Jan. 13); and San Carlos over Arete Prep (65-53, Jan. 10).
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. 17 had Phoenix Country Day School (9-1 seeding, 17.9339 rating) was No. 1, Arizona Lutheran (8-1, 16.8147) No. 2, Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep (11-2, 16.3398) No. 3, Phoenix North Valley Christian (7-1, 15.9976) No. 4, Gilbert San Tan Charter (8-4, 15.5211) No. 5, Pima (9-2, 13.6479) No. 6, Scottsdale Christian (6-4, 9.2599) No. 7, and Morenci (9-1, 9.2186) No. 8.
Fountain Hills (5-4, 7.7757) was No. 9, Tempe Prep (10-2, 7.7722) was No. 10, Flagstaff Northland Prep (7-3, 7.0456) No. 11, Kingman Academy (8-3, 6.8549) No. 12, Glendale Prep (7-5, 6.3495) No. 13, San Carlos (7-4, 6.1117) No. 14, Phoenix Madison Highland Prep (9-3, 5.9001) No. 15, and Bullhead City Mohave Accelerated (7-5, 5.5305) No. 16.
Scottsdale Prep (6-5, 4.7117) was No. 17, Phoenix Christian (3-5, 3.8825) No. 18, Saint Johns (6-4, 3.8808) No. 19, Tucson Desert Christian (9-1, 3.5478) No. 20, Phoenix Horizon Honors (4-4, 3.5021) No. 21, Gilbert Classical (8-4, 2.3608) No. 22, Gilbert Arete Prep (5-5, 1.8711) No. 23, and Laveen Heritage (6-5, 1.4459) 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 Willcox (7-4, minus 2.1559) No. 31, Benson (5-7, minus 3. 9614) No. 32, Bisbee (5-4, minus 4.1843) No. 34, Tucson Santa Rita (5-7, minus 7.2156) No. 40, Saint Augustine (3-7, minus 13.6746) No. 47, Tombstone (2-9, minus 13.8204) No. 48, and Tucson San Miguel Catholic (0-11, minus 26.5541) No. 49.
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. 20 Desert Christian Eagles (20-2)
Desert Christian (20-2 overall, 10-1 seeding, 3-0 2A South Region) is averaging a score of 61-41 (670-456) per seeding game or a 20-point margin. The Joshua Moore-coached Eagles have seeding wins over Elfrida Valley Union (57-33, Nov. 20), San Miguel (63-31, Nov. 21), Tombstone (60-35, Dec. 3), Catalina (57-21, Dec. 5), Bisbee (66-60, Dec. 19), Tombstone (70-50, Jan. 7), Tucson Empire (61-55, Jan. 10), Saint Augustine (76-44, Jan. 14), San Miguel (57-21, Jan. 15), and Saint David (49-36, Jan. 18) along with a loss to Tucson Tanque Verde (54-70, Dec. 7).

In addition, the Eagles went 5-0 during The Gregory School 3-day tourney and 5-1 during the 3-day Benson tourney. The wins were over Bisbee (73-43, Nov. 25), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (71-34, Nov. 26), Willcox (59-47, Nov. 26), Tombstone (56-12, Nov. 27), Bisbee (52-40, Nov. 27), Saint David (61-45, Dec. 12), Tombstone (50-36, Dec. 13), Sahuarita (62-53, Dec. 13), Benson (63-51, Dec. 14), and Douglas (78-75, Dec. 14) plus fell to Sells Baboquivari (53-74, Dec. 12). The Eagles are averaging an overall score of 61-44 (1,348-966) per game or a 17-point margin.
Desert Christian has a 14-member team of one senior, ten juniors, and three sophomores. The roster includes senior Landon Thigpen (20); juniors Logan Benson (23), Tyson Dobbins (5), Kyan Garang (11), Zane Gonzalez (10), Aiden Morales (12), Samuel Nwosu (33), Cooper Payne (22), Colt Schmuker (30), Wyatt Schmuker (24), and Levi Thigpen (4); and sophomores Samuel Alday (55), Fernando Ayala (25), and Matthew Jaegers (15).
The Eagles compete in the 9-member 2A South Region with Benson, Bisbee, Morenci, Tombstone, Willcox, and Tucson schools Saint Augustine Catholic, San Miguel Catholic, and Santa Rita.
No. 31 Willcox Cowboys (12-9)
Willcox (12-9 overall, 7-4 seeding, 2-1 2A South Region) is averaging a score of 53-38 (586-423) per seeding game or a 15-point margin. The Farbod Safavi-coached Cowboys have seeding wins over Tucson Catalina (58-14, Dec. 3), Bisbee (42-38, Dec. 6), San Simon (56-23, Dec. 16), Saint Augustine (51-49, Jan. 9), Saint David (56-47, Jan. 13), Tombstone (50-44, Jan. 14), and Bisbee (71-69, Jan. 16) along with losses to Sahuarita (53-33, Nov. 22), Safford (60-70, Dec. 10), Benson (46-49, Jan. 7), and Morenci (43-57, Jan. 10).

Additionally, the Cowboys went 3-2 during The Gregory School 3-day tourney and 2-3 during the 3-day Show Low tourney. The wins were over Patagonia (45-30, Nov. 25), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (55-30, Nov. 26), Nogales Lourdes Catholic (74-35, Nov. 27), Heber Mogollon (55-50, Jan. 2), and Peach Springs Music Mountain (51-48, Jan. 3) while the losses were to Bisbee (60-61, Nov. 25), Desert Christian (47-59, Nov. 26), Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (32-64, Jan. 2), Thatcher (45-67, Jan. 3), and Lakeside Blue Ridge (25-38, Jan. 4). Willcox is averaging an overall score of 51-43 (1,075-905) per game or an 8-point margin.
Willcox has a 14-member team of seven seniors, one junior, five sophomores, and one freshman. The roster includes seniors Avery Edington (5), Caden Hooper (15), Jonathan Miranda (23), Jovani Rodriguez (10), Gabe Salas (22), Alan Solis (1), and Severo Torres (3); junior Ty Shull (2); sophomores Emiliano Chavez (4), Da’marion Jackson (11), Jahir Reyes (12), JD Whetten (14), and Carder Wyatt (13); and freshman Tucker Stamback (20).
The Cowboys compete in the 9-member 2A South Region with Benson, Bisbee, Morenci, Tombstone, and Tucson schools: Saint Augustine Catholic, Desert Christian, San Miguel Catholic, and Santa Rita.
No. 8 Morenci Wildcats (19-3)
Morenci (19-3 overall, 10-1 seeding, 3-0 region) averages a 64-45 (701-500) score per game or a 19-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), and Saint Johns (57-45, Jan. 18) 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 63-50 (1,384-1,097) per game or a 13-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 competes 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 – 57, Saint Johns – 45
Noah Chavez broke an early 2-2 tie with an unchallenged long-distance shot. It was part of a 13-3 run, giving the Wildcats a 15-5 advantage heading into the second quarter.
The coaches have asked the Wildcats for a sustained intensity level for four quarters throughout the season. The lack of it allowed the visiting Redskins to put forth an 18-11 run to get within three by halftime.

Saint Johns stayed within three points for most of the third quarter until the final at 2:01. Christopher Lopez and Aymen Abdulqadar each added a field goal to give Morenci a 41-34 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play. Morenci turned in a 16-11 outing to walk off the court with a win.
On the evening, Morenci netted 24 field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 7-17 free throws compared to 19 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 4-5 free throws by Saint Johns.
Five Wildcats contributed double-digit scoring. Chavez had 12 points on five field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 1-2 free throws, Abraham Cortez 12 on four field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 3-5 free throws, Lopez 11 on five field goals plus 1-4 free throws, Yedidia Luputa Kanyinda 10 on five field goals, and Abdulqadar 10 on five field goals. Adrian McCallum added two points.
For Saint Johns, junior John French had 18 points on seven field goals plus 4-5 free throws, and junior Max Udall had 12 on five field goals (two 3-pointers). Senior Dane Avila added eight points, senior Mckray Johnson four, and junior T Platt three.
Morenci – 69, Saint Augustine – 53
A Lopez long-distance shot broke a 9-9 deadlock midway through the first quarter and gave the visiting Wildcats the lead for good. Morenci led 25-13 heading into the second quarter, 37-31 at halftime, 52-42 after three quarters, and 69-46 with 2:36 remaining.

Morenci tallied 28 field goals (five 3-pointers) plus 8-12 free throws compared to 20 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 9-18 free throws by Saint Augustine.
Lopez netted a team-high 21 points on nine field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 1-2 free throws, Noah Chavez 16 on six field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 1-4 free throws, and Abdulqadar 12 on six field goals. Yedidia Luputa Kanyinda added eight points, Adrian McCabe, Abraham Cortez, and Adrian McCallum six apiece.
For Saint Augustine, sophomore Carlos Acuna netted a game-high 31 points on 12 field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 5-9 free throws. Sophomore Jovanni Fernandez added eight points, senior Diego Perez five, freshman Omar Valdez three, and sophomores Nico Martinez, Jonathan Ochoa, and Isaiah Ochoa-Gomez two apiece.
Morenci – 60, Benson – 42
Trailing 10-12 after the opening quarter, the Wildcats turned in a 20-13 second quarter outing for lead 30-25 at halftime. An Abdulqadar field goal midway into the second quarter broke a 20-20 deadlock as the Wildcats retained the lead for the rest of the game. And an 18-8 third-quarter effort gave them a 48-33 advantage heading into the final quarter.
For the game, Morenci netted 27 field goals (five 3-pointers) plus 1-2 free throws versus 17 field goals (six 3-pointers) plus 2-4 free throws by Benson.

Abdulqader paced Morenci’s scores with 19 points on eight field goals (three 3-pointers), and Chavez followed with 13 on six field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 012 free throws. Kanyinda added eight points, McCallum seven, Lopez six, Cortez four, and McCabe three.
Benson got 13 points from senior Domonik Villa on five field goals (three 3-pointers). Junior Dawson Judd added eight points, sophomore Luke Chapman seven, sophomore Jason Santo six, senior Harley Vanwormer four, and senior Mason McIntyre and junior Kellen Deskins two apiece.
Morenci – 54, Round Valley – 51
The Wildcats had to come from behind late in the game, outscoring their hosts 10-9 in the fourth quarter and 5-2 in an extra period to leave the White Mountains with a win. A Lopez 3-pointer and Cortez field goal accounted for the overtime points.
Round Valley led 14-13 after the first quarter, 25-24 at halftime, and 40-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
Morenci totaled 20 field goals (seven 3-pointers) plus 7-11 free throws, while Round Valley made 19 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 10-16 free throws.
Lopez contributed a game-high 24 points on nine field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 2-2 free throws. Chavez added nine points, McCabe eight, Abdulqadar six, Cortez four, and Kanyinda three.
For Round Valley, junior Brennan Brown netted 18 points on eight field goals plus 2-5 free throws. Senior Wyatt Reed added nine points, junior Ryan Rodriguez eight, senior Cole Tom seven, senior Kade Latham five, and junior Ettore Rossi and sophomore Joah Brown two apiece.