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Mesquite falls to Coconino
March 13, 2021 by Lance Hartzler
azdailysun.com / Photo by Jake Bacon Arizona Daily Sun
It was tough. It was physical, plus a bit emotional. But the Coconino
Panthers boys basketball team was up for it.
The No. 4-seeded Panthers clinched their first state semifinal appearance
since 1989, beating 12th-seeded Mesquite, 45-34, at home in the 4A
Conference state tournament quarterfinals Saturday night.
Panthers head coach Mike Moran called Mesquite one of, maybe even the
best, teams the Panthers have played this season, and it showed. Mesquite
plays a similar style as Coconino -- high pressure, strong defense -- but
there was something that the host was able to exploit.
The visiting Wildcats tend to get a little ahead of themselves on offense.
The Panthers drew five charges, three on Wildcats guard Eric Lira -- also
a star football player at Mesquite. He certainly played like a football
player at times, bowling over the smaller Coconino guards as they stepped
in front of Lira a few times to put the him into foul trouble.
"Guess what? That was the game plan, the first thing defensively we talked
about," Moran said. "When you look at the number of charges we take, we
knew that was going to be the key because they can get around us, they
were quick. We were there and it was the difference in the game. It was
what changed the whole momentum. ... That is such an important part of our
momentum shift."
Wildcats leading scorer Nate Calmese ran into some issues of his own.
Calmese, who came into the game scoring 18.5 points per game, was ejected
with five minutes left in the third quarter after he was given his second
technical foul.
Calmese was first given a tech in the second quarter after he argued a
foul call that also went his way. The tech that led to the ejection was
critical.
Coconino led just 23-20 before Calmese was ejected. After his ejection,
which coincided with a putback score by Panthers forward Hayden Nez,
Preston Olney drilled a pair of free throws and Coconino took a 27-20
lead.
Mesquite answered with a 5-0 run to close the third, but the Wildcats had
just lost their top option on offense and were looking rough.
The Panthers opened the fourth with a three-point play by Nez, who had a
solid night with 11 points and kept plays alive with a few offensive
rebounds, and went up 30-25 early in the fourth.
Mesquite answered after a few empty possessions with a 3-pointer by Cohen
Gonzales, who scored 17 including four made 3s, to cut the lead down to
just two.
Then Olney hit a rare jumper as the Panthers star guard struggled, but the
make was big to stop the Mesquite momentum, and he quickly found himself
wide open for a 3, which he drained as Coconino took a 35-30 lead with
4:40 to go.
Coconino had the momentum back on its side.
The possession after Olney drilled the wing 3, Manuel Cardoza drew a
charge on Mesquite forward Jacob Roberts. Coconino didn't directly score
off the charge, but the team was rolling and a few possessions later Olney
came up with a steal and tossed a dump-off pass to Jacob Begay for a lefty
finish in transition to put Coconino up 37-30 with 3:44 remaining.
Begay's bucket forced a timeout from Mesquite, but the Panthers kept
rolling as Mesquite scored just four points in the final four minutes of
the game.
Olney finished with 14 points in an off shooting night as Lira bothered
Olney for much of the game with his size and strength. Begay scored six as
he also had an off night overall on offense.
Mesquite defeats Seton Catholic on
senior night
March 4, 2021 by Liam Barrett, Arizona State
University
A shortened season full of adversity has come to a close for Seton
Catholic, who finished 1-14 following another loss Thursday night.
Mesquite, celebrating senior night, comfortably defeated Seton Catholic
63-36. Seton’s ongoing issues throughout the season were on full display,
getting beat in almost all aspects of the game.
Out-hustled, outplayed, out-matched. Seton Catholic struggled this season
on offense in the half-court. Mesquite exposed this through the use of
traps and intense defense. The team seemed to lose composure in the
half-court when the defenders pressed up, causing turnovers and bad shots.
Mesquite had no trouble running its sets and setting the tempo in this
game. The home team came out with an energy that was maintained through
the end.
“As a team, we need to work on executing better. Personally, I just need
to get back in the gym,” Seton Catholic junior Jackson Adlhoch said.
By the end of the first half, Mesquite was already up by more than 20. As
the second half progressed, the lead continued to grow to the home crowd's
enjoyment in a gym filled with friends and family. Nothing seemed to go
right for Seton, and it was clear they were overmatched the whole game.
It’s a disappointing end to a disappointing season, but the team will now
look forward to a fresh start. Seton has a bright future, and it's up to
the coaches and players now to work toward getting there.
“A positive was individual growth. We don't have a lot of experience
currently, so this year was about building that experience,” first-year
head coach Raymond Patche said.
Though this season is one the team would like to move on from, it allowed
for a young core group of guys to continuously get important minutes as
they develop as varsity athletes. A bad year does not mean a bad program,
but it does mean improvement is a must in the offseason.
“We’re going to work on getting stronger. Our experience and IQ have
improved, so now it’s about building better athletes,” Patche said.
The team looked about as happy as you’d expect at the end of a lone win
season. Crossed arms on the bench and lumbering movements on the court,
Seton looked defeated long before the final buzzer. For the seniors, this
isn’t the farewell game they would’ve liked but the team was able to form
a family, even during such a hard year.
“Before the season we were all acquaintances I guess, but now we're like a
big family and have each other to lean on,” Adlhoch said.
For the seniors, the friendships and bonds formed in this last year almost
make up for the bad season. It’s not often when a team can grow so close
together despite going through all the obstacles and setbacks this year.
“We had a good time even though we didn't have the best season. It was
difficult but we came together as a family,” senior Andrew Scranton said.
Patche has created a family environment that has led to players wanting to
give their all. To command such respect from his players despite a losing
season much about the character of the first-year head coach. The players
have his back and Patche has made it clear he has theirs.
“It was great,” Scranton said. “I loved him as a coach and he really cared
for us. I hope next year he gets more wins.”
“It was our first season with the new head coach," Adlhoch said, "and I
think we have a lot to build on. It was like we were all rookies this year
and it's hard to go into a season with 12 rookies."
The future is bright for a program with a majority returning team and
energetic coaching staff.
“I think they're gonna be a threat next year with 12 seniors coming in.
It’ll be good,” Scranton said.
Mesquite tops Marcos de Niza in first
win for Coach Lynch
01/26/21 - Les Willsey Staff Writer, AZPreps365.com
The Wildcats earned the first win for new coach Shawn Lynch after a pair
of one-point defeats on Tuesday night.
Lynch was hired at Mesquite in September to fill the Wildcats' coaching
vacancy after stepping away from Eastmark before its first varsity season
earlier in the summer. Lynch previously coached at Agua Fria HS and Mesa
High before shifting to administrative duties that included principalships
at Williams Field and Westwood high schools the past 15 years.
Guard Nate Calmese, the lone returning starter for the Wildcats,
(1-2, 1-1 4A Desert Sky Region) scored a game-high 27 points. Calmese
tallied 17 points in the first half on 7 of 13 shooting. He finished 11 of
19, including five threes. Sophomore guards Maurice Lakes and
CohenJ Gonzales also scored in double figures with 18 points and 11
points, respectively. Mesquite built a 22-7 lead after the first quarter
and improved the advantage to 38-15 at intermission. Jase Langley led
Marcos de Niza (1-2, 1-2 4A Desert Sky Region) with nine points.
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