And just like that, the five-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Williams for this week’s holiday tournament shouldn’t seem quite so long and arduous for the Patagonia High School basketball program.
The Lobos’ traveling spirits were lifted Monday night when senior Diego Carranza split the San Simon defense and banked in a shot with six seconds left to give Patagonia a 44-42 victory. The Lobos trailed by seven midway through the third quarter before rallying for the win.
“They showed heart and fought back,” Lobos coach Nater Porter said. “After a two-point second quarter; we couldn’t have played much worse. We couldn’t make a layup. You have to fight through that adversity, and we did. These are the type of games that can define a season if you build off them.”
The Patagonia boys hit the road with an official record of 3-0, although the record doesn’t reflect the four games they split at the Boyd Baker tournament in Tucson prior to Thanksgiving. Both losses came against Class 2A schools: Willcox and Bisbee.
Porter is continuing to experiment with multiple lineup combinations to take advantage of the Lobos’ depth. The deep roster has been needed, as several players have been out with seasonal illnesses, junior center Gavin Arbizo is sidelined with a knee injury and senior guard D.J. Castro is still working his way into game shape after recovering from his knee injury. Eleven players saw extensive action against San Simon.
“I think our fresh bodies made the difference,” Porter said. “That’s an advantage we have. We have a lot of ‘OK’ guys.”
Carranza scored 15 points in Monday’s victory despite battling through an illness. Junior Gus Varela added 10 points, and sophomore Kannon Shore scored eight.
“He (Carranza) feels horrible,” Porter said. “Gabe (Nunez) wasn’t feeling well. Kannon was just getting over a lung infection. We had guys who had to dig deep and fight.”
Monday’s game got off to a promising start for the Lobos, who jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead. But San Simon took over in the second quarter, dominating on the backboards and outscoring the Lobos 15-2 to take a 23-16 lead at the half.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Porter said. “We never make anything easy.”
Porter said his halftime message was a simple one. “I said you gotta find the heart. You gotta want it. They were pushing us around. We had to dig deep.”
The early season has been more difficult for the Patagonia girls team, which lacks depth and experience after losing three starters from last year’s state tournament qualifiers. The Lobos were outmuscled on the boards and struggled with turnovers in Monday’s 43-27 loss to San Simon. Junior guard Emma Lewton led the Lobos with 14 points.
The girls’ official record fell to 1-2, but they also lost all four games they played in the Boyd Baker tournament.
Next up for both teams is that long trip to Williams, where they will play five games over three days, starting on Thursday.
“The kids really look forward to it,” Porter said. “It’s a big deal for us.”