Senior Gus Varela paced the Lobos with 13 points in Tuesday night’s victory. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Junior Kannon Shore drives toward the basket. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Senior Jaxon Yslava hits the deck to try to corral a loose ball. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Freshman Troy Hawkins leads the Lobos on a fast break. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Diego Padilla and Marco Vasquez apply the defensive pressure. Photo by Dave Lumia 
Patagonia coaching staff Terrell Harper, Nate Porter and Ryan Shore during a break in the action. Photo by Dave Lumia
Six days. Four games. Three victories.
Not perfect, but the Patagonia Lobos will take it. It beats the heck out of 33 days, no victories, which directly preceded the current flurry of activity for the boys team.
The most recent victory was a 45-36 verdict over Andrada Polytechnic on Tuesday night. Senior Gus Varela scored 13 points to lead the Lobos, who had some shaky moments while top offensive performer Kannon Shore sat out most of the second half with foul trouble.
“Gus was good tonight,” coach Nate Porter said. “He’s been out for a while, so it’s good to have him back and give us some buckets.”
The Lobos have won three consecutive home games since returning from the Christmas break, beating Andrada, Superior (55-50 on Saturday) and San Simon (53-26 last Thursday). Interspersed among the victories was a 65-32 loss to The Gregory School on Monday night in Tucson. Gregory is the defending 1A state champion and is currently ranked third among 1A schools.
Patagonia entered Tuesday’s game ranked 27th in 1A—on the outside looking in for one of 24 state playoff berths. The Lobos have an 8-11 overall record, but five of the victories were in early season tournaments that are not calculated in the rankings. For those purposes, the Lobos are 3-6.
They have eight games remaining, beginning Friday at Baboquivari.
“We don’t have any wiggle room,” Porter said. “We need to win some ball games.”
A swarming defense helped the Lobos to a strong start on Tuesday even while their shots weren’t falling. They took an early 9-2 lead, and after Andrada closed with two, they finished the first half with eight consecutive points to make it 21-11.
“You hold a team to 11, that’s what you want to do,” Porter said. “We struggled to put the ball in the basket in that first half, and then in the second half, we got a little sloppy.”
Shore picked up his fourth foul in the first minute of the third quarter and sat out the rest of the quarter. Varela picked up a lot of offensive slack, but Andrada chipped away at the lead to pull within 33-28.
Shore returned to the lineup to start the final quarter and scored the next eight points for Patagonia, but he fouled out with 4:53 to play and the Lobos leading 41-33. Andrada narrowed the gap to 41-36, but the Lobos closed out the victory with two free throws by Marco Vasquez and a basket in the paint by Noah Gallardo.
“It hurts not having Kannon out there, he’s got to learn how to stay on the court,” Porter said. “He’s a very good offensive player.”
Shore finished with 12 points and Vasquez added seven, but it was Vasquez’s defense that earned Porter’s praise. “Marco’s defense is amazing,” he said. “His ball pressure makes other people uncomfortable.”
Asked about the difference between how the Lobos are playing now and prior to the break, Varela said, “I think we’ve definitely learned to work together as a team. Now we’re at a good point.”
Porter said the final three weeks will be a gauntlet.
“They’re tired, and they’re going to be tired the rest of the way,” he said. “It’s a lot of basketball. (But) there’s nothing better than playing basketball.”