With a little more than one week left in the regular season, both the Patagonia High boys and girls basketball teams are in the thick of the race for postseason play.
The Patagonia boys are coming off their best week of the season with back-to-back victories over 1A Tucson Southeast region rivals Valley Union and Duncan.
The two victories followed a near-identical pattern. Coach Nate Porter rotated in as many as 10 different players to capitalize on the Lobos’ superior depth and pull away from both opponents in the fourth quarter.
“We wore them down,” Porter said after the 43-36 victory over Duncan. “We had great defensive intensity, and that kind of broke them eventually.
“I’m really pleased. They’ve figured out what their identity is.”
Nine different players scored for the Lobos, led by DJ Castro with nine points and Diego Carranza and Kannon Shore with eight apiece. Carranza scored six of his eight points in the final quarter.
“The strength of our team is our depth,” Porter said. “We use that to overcome our lack of scoring ability.”
Playing for the third time in four nights, the Lobos followed the two victories with a 57-16 loss to The Gregory School in Tucson, but the outcome was not surprising. The Gregory School has a 15-0 record and is the top-ranked 1A team in the state.
Patagonia’s overall record is 10-14, but the Lobos are 7-7 in games that are factored into the state rankings. They are in third place in the Tucson Southeast Region with a 3-2 record.
“I feel like we’ve turned the season around,” Porter said. “That (Duncan) win should qualify us for the super-regional. That’s been a goal of ours.”
The Patagonia girls struggled offensively in a 21-17 loss to Duncan, but they bounced back with a 36-30 victory over The Gregory School. Brianna Majalca had nine points and 10 rebounds in the victory, and Jenny Vasquez contributed six points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The victory improved the Lobos’ record to 10-9 overall and 7-6 in games that count in the state rankings. They were ranked 17th in 1A prior to the victory over Gregory, just short of qualifying for one of 16 state playoff berths.
The girls have four games remaining to make up ground in the rankings, while the boys have three left to play. There are two home games remaining: Jan. 26 vs. Superior and Jan. 29 vs. Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind.
“If we play like we’ve been playing, they’re all winnable games,” Porter said. “I just want to see continued reliance on our defense and intensity. That’s something we can control.”