Sidewinders fall in opening round of the SWRC

Sometimes a team is simply overmatched.

That was the case for San Luis on Thursday, which lost to Arbor View (Nev.) 78-26 in the opening round of the Southwest Rotary Classic.

The Aggies were bigger and faster than the Sidewinders and forced them into turnovers all night.

“The openings were there, we're just a little slow right now,” San Luis coach Raymond Guadian said.

Starting one senior and four sophomores against the Aggies, the young Sidewinders are still getting used to playing against faster varsity-level players — something they got plenty of against Arbor View.

“A lot of it is just them getting used to the speed of the game and the kind of competition at this level,” Guadian said.

Sophomore post Chris Ofera led the scoring for the Sidewinders with nine points.

“We got (Ofera) a little late, so we've been trying to work him in. He loves to be down in the paint with the big boys,” Guadian.

Israel Coria and Alejandro Nogales each chipped in five points for San Luis.

Height was a clear disadvantage for the Sidewinders on Thursday. They had no answer for 6-foot-5 sophomore wing Justin Burks, who scored all of his game-high 22 points in the first half.

The Sidewinders scratched and clawed against the Aggies in the first quarter and had the game at 15-9. However, Arbor View's talent and speed simply overwhelmed them the rest of the way.

“A lot of our shifts were just one step off and a second too slow,” Guadian said. “These are all things that we can condition ourselves into making correct.”

The Sidewinders will regroup and play at Yuma High today at 11 a.m. against Sahuarita, who lost to Gila Ridge on Thursday.