Local Roundup: Feb. 22
PREP BASKETBALL
Gila Ridge loses playoff opener
The No. 12-seeded Hawks entered Tuesday’s 5A Division II state playoffs eyeing the first postseason victory in school history. Alas, it fell short with a 68-37 loss at No. 5 Avondale-Westview.
Last season, Gila Ridge was content with making the school’s first playoff appearance, despite being bounced by top-seeded Tolleson.
“This one’s a little harder to swallow,” Gila Ridge coach David Schultz said. “We didn’t come out very strong in the game.”
The Hawks trailed, 17-5, after the first quarter and could never recover. Gila Ridge cut the deficit to 11 points near the end of the third quarter but couldn’t keep up in the fourth.
“We we’re fighting back the whole way,” Schultz said. “But when you spot good teams that kind of lead, it’s very hard. We hadn’t really done that the whole season.”
Summer Ehrig led Gila Ridge with 20 points while Vivian Rowland added 15, accounting for all but two of the Hawks’ points.
JUCO WOMEN’S HOOPS
Matadors keep pace with win
Tyrisha Blake led four Matadors in double figures with 21 points as Arizona Western won its 18th striaght game, 90-64 against South Moutnain at home on Tuesday.
The win kept the Matadors tied with Central Arizona for first place in the Arizona Community College Athletic Association heading into Friday’s regular-season finale. If both teams win, a coin flip wil ldetermine the top seed in the three-team NJCAA Region I Division I tournament.
Blake scored 21, Jolie Olingende scored 16, Teanna Boxley had 14 and T.J. Manson 12 in the win, which gave the Matadros (28-1 overall, 20-1 conference) the second-longest winning streak in school history.
The Cougars (12-17, 9-12) led 3-0, but a 13-4 Matador run gave them the lead for good — a lead which would eventualy grow to 32.
“We were pretty focused, and we did a good job of ‘winning the next game’ as we came off the road,” AWC coach Patrick Cunningham said. “The goal is still put a championship banner on the wall, and they were focused enough on that to play well tonight.”
The Matadors host Pima, ranked No. 2 in the latest NJCAA Divsion II poll, on Friday.
JUCO MEN’S HOOPS
AWC tops South Mountain
Arizona Western’s lead never shrunk to less than five points in the second half as the Matadors topped No. 4 South Mountain 72-63 at The House on Tuesday.
Both teams had already clinched their respective top seeds in the upcoming NJCAA Region I tourney — the Matadors in Division I and the Cougars in Division II.
Reigning ACCAC Player of the Week Renan Lenz had 16 points, six rebounds and four blocks for the Matadors (21-8 overall, 16-5 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) against the Cougars (26-3, 18-3). D’Angelo Scott added 14 points and nine rebounds.
“We established our toughness, which is something we’ve been working on in practice,” AWC coach Kelly Green said. “These guys have heard me question their toughness many times, but tonight, they did a good job tonight of staying tough, contesting their shots, and staying aggressive on the boards.”
The Matadors close the regular season at home Friday against Pima.
JUCO BASEBALL
Matadors sweep Vaqueros
Arizona Western squeezed out two close wins at Central Arizona behind strong pitching on Tuesday.
Tim Keller outdueled the Vaquero’s Zach Dondo in Game 1 as the Matadors won 4-3. Keller went the distance with eight strike outs.
Spencer Tyler went 1-for-3 for AWC with two RBIs from a two-out single in the fifth.
In Game 2, Kahana Neal picked up a win after going eight innings while striking out four and giving up two earned runs in a 5-2 win. Sergio Sanchez got the save after giving up one hit in an inning of work.
Wade Morten led the Matadors (10-8 overall, 2-2 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) at the plate going 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
PREP BOYS TENNIS
Sidewinders edge Raiders
San Luis’ No. 2 doubles team of Ismael Santos and Luis Lopez beat Cibola’s Luis Franco and Myungsu Son 8-4 to give the Sidewinders a 5-4 home win over the Raiders on Tuesday.
San Luis took two of the three doubles matches for the match win after splitting singles play.
San Luis’ No. 1 Aldo Amaya fell 2-6, 1-6 to Albert Castro and No. 2 Alonso Gonzalez lost 1-6, 1-6 to Franco to start singles play. Then Santos defeated Sami Ahmed 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a shortened tiebreaker when Ahmed suffered an injury that kept him from continuing.
Sidewinders No. 4 Chris Romero beat Willy Ruiz 6-2, 7-5. Son defeated San Luis’ No. 5 Luiz Lopez 1-6, 6-3, 10-8 before San Luis tied up the singles matches when Eduardo Mendez beat Abel Mora 7-6, 6-0.
In doubles, Amaya and Gonzalez lost 4-8 to Castro and Blake Boyer. In No. 3 doubles, San Luis’ Mendez teamed with Jose Lopez in an 8-3 win.
The Sidewinders (2-0) host Yuma on Friday.
Kings roll Criminals
Kofa defeated Yuma High 7-2 on the road Tuesday.
The Kings took the singles portion of the match 4-2 and swept the doubles matchups 3-0.
Singles winners for Kofa were: No. 1 Ryan Thornburg 6-0, 6-1 over Andres Rodriguez; No. 2 Greg Hazen 6-0, 6-0 over Martin Garcia; No. 3 Eduardo Ornelas 7-5, 6-2 over Ricardo Aguilar; and Santos Rangel 6-2, 6-2 over Luis Esqueda. Yuma’s No. 4 Miguel Alcantar defeated Kyler Toms 7-6, 2-6, 10-7 and No. 6 Jose Vega defeated Jose Rodriguez 6-4, 4-6, 10-8.
In doubles, Thornburg and Hazen beat Garcia and Andres Rodriguez 8-1, Ornelas and Toms beat Aguilar and Alcantar 8-3, and Rangel and Jose Rodriguez beat Esqueda and Vega 8-4.
PREP WRESTLING
Ludwin, Jankowski nab top honors
Cibola’s state champion at 119 pounds Adam Ludwin and his coach Mike Jankowski won the Gila Valley Region’s Coach and Wrestler of the Year Honors, respectively.
The rest of the first team was Rafael Jaimes (103, Cibola), Isaac Camarillo (112, Cibola), Alex Jordan (125, Gila Ridge), Eric Arias (130, Cibola), Pierre Gaud (135, Cibola), Pablo Moreno (140, Cibola), Andrew Garcia (145, Cibola), Adam Razo (152, Cibola), Kevin Jumbeck (160, Gila Ridge), James Gomez (171, Yuma High), Juan Reyes (189, Gila Ridge), Trae Chavez (215, Cibola), Juan Ortiz (heavyweight, Kofa).
YOUTH SOCCER
Traveling team into championship
Santos FC Yuma 93G made it to the championship game this weekend at a Presidents’ Day tournament in Phoenix, but the finale was postponed due to rain.
Santos FC won its first game against a Scottsdale team 2-1, with goals by Andi Bedoya and Kimmy Uriate. In the semifinal, Santos blanked Arizona Hammers 93G 2-0 behind the goal playing of Mikisa Armenta. Karina Cain assisted goals to both Uriate and Lesly Salazar. No make-up date for the championship has been set.
