Local Roundup: Feb. 23

Down a point with 1 minute, 21 seconds left and seeking a monumental upset of a No. 1 seed, Kofa’s Daniel Santana came up with a steal and the Kings could smell the upset.

Unfortunately for No. 16 Kofa, the shot down the other end rimmed in and out, and Sierra Vista-Buena made their four three throws down the stretch to hold on for a 57-52 win Wednesday in the first round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs.

After the Santana steal, Jorge Barreda attempted a close-range jumper that just didn’t fall.

“It was a good shot but it just didn’t fall,” Kofa coach Danilo Montialli said. “It’s the type of thing that happens all the time in a game. It just happened at a bad time.”

Charles Weekly led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, while Gilbert Palacio added 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

“We played extremely well. We played our heats out,” Montialli said. “I’m extremely proud of my guys.”

Raiders fall to
Desert Mountain

Cibola couldn’t buy a shot. Scottsdale-Desert Mountain couldn’t miss one.

The second-seeded Wolves used their hot shooting to advance past the No. 15 Raiders in the first round of the Class 5A Division II State Tournament on Wednesday in Scottsdale, winning 70-37.

“We played hard, and we took some good shots, but they just didn’t fall,” Cibola coach Tim Keller said. “We couldn’t hit anything and they hit everything.”

Paul Mitchell had 11 points for the Raiders and Jordan Mitchell had 12.

“We just ran into a buzzsaw tonight,” Keller said. “They just didn’t miss any shots. And it wasn’t just one guy — it was their whole team.”

PREP BOYS SOCCER

Kofa sweeps top GVR honors

Kofa forward Donal Landrum was selected as the Gila Valley Region’s Player of the Year and his coach Jamie Nicewander earned the top coaching honor.

The Kings and San Luis Sidewinders dominated the first team, securing nine of the 13 spots.
San Luis’ Rex Glenn was the other forward on the first team. Sidewinder midfielder Erik Luzanilla made the first team along with fellow midfielders Estefan Jimenez and Angel Figueroa (Kofa), Lupe Paz (Gila Ridge), Ramon Izabal (Yuma High) and Francisco Cosio (Cibola). The defenders were Carlos Barrientos and Jesus Silva (San Luis) and Michael Eldrige and Martin Lara (Kofa) with Christian Coronel from Cibola earning the goalkeeper nod.

On the second team were forwards Alberto Saavedra (Gila Ridge), Colby Carr (Kofa) and Cesar Salazar (Yuma); midfielders Alexis Gomez and Marcos Leon (San Luis), Jose Segura and Julio Mesa (Kofa) and Paulo Amador (Gila Ridge); defenders Alex Garcia (Kofa), Leo Morales (Yuma) and Miguel Ramirez (Cibola); and goalkeeper Zach Garcia (Kofa).

JUCO WOMEN’S HOOPS

AWC seventh in latest poll

The Arizona Western College women’s basketball team moved to seventh in the latest NJCAA Division poll, thanks in part to an 18-game winning streak.

It’s the highest ranking for the Matadors since 2003, when they were also seventh.
The Matadors face one more major hurdle in their quest to earn their first share of the ACCAC regular season title since the 2003-04 season. They’ll host the second-ranked team in the current NJCAA Division II poll, Pima, in their regular season finale.

ARIZONA WINTER LEAGUE

Playoff matchups set

Saskatchewan swept a pair of games Wednesday to claim the top spot in the Arizona Winter League playoffs, which begin Friday.

The Silver Sox finished 11-4 and in first place in the International Division. In the American Division, the Yuma Scorpions won two games as well on Wednesday, both in come-from-behind fashion, to finish 10-6 and in first. Both the Scorpions and Silver Sox earned byes into Saturday’s semifinal.

Blythe, which if it could have beaten Yuma would have earned a No. 2 seed, instead finished sixth and will face Team Canada at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Desert Sun Stadium, after an 11 a.m. game between Sonora and Western Canada.

Saturday’s games are at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with Sunday’s title game at 3 p.m., all at Desert Sun.

ADULT BASEBALL

YABL looking for players

The Yuma Adult Baseball League is looking for players to join its eight current teams for when play begins March 13 at the Ray Kroc Baseball Complex.

Registration is $95 and the league runs through June 29, playing every Sunday.

Interested players of any skill level should contact Ramon Velarde at 920-8215.