The Salpointe boys moved into the Division-II quarterfinal round thanks to a wild 74-73 comeback victory over Saguaro at home Saturday night.

The game plan for Salpointe seemed simple enough. Lancer coach Brian Holstrom had prepared his team to work the ball inside to take advantage of Saguaro’s interior defense but, sometimes, plans take a while to develop.

“We really didn’t follow our game plan until the second half,” explained Holstrom. “We wanted to get the ball inside but we eventually found five guys who were willing to do it….and a couple of guys to get the job done.”

Junior Mike Hauser and senior forward Cliff Marg scored six points each for Saguaro in the opening quarter, easily outpacing the Lancers who seemed to be settled on taking outside jumpers regardless of the game plane.

Salpointe found themselves down 16-9 and needed to find a way to stop Hauser and Marg while trying to do a better job of scoring on their end. Hauser was held scoreless in the second quarter and Marg was held to a manageable five points but the Lancers didn’t account for junior guard Ryan Berg.

Berg is by far the Sabercats leading scorer. He is the only player on the team to average over 20 points a game. Marg is the closest teammate with 14 points a game.

Berg was held to two points in the first quarter and two more in the second quarter until Salpointe senior Alec Castaneda hit a three-pointer with 2:18 left in the first half to fuel the Lancers first attempt at a comeback.

Up 27-26, Saguaro went on a 10-3 run to close out the first half thanks to two three-pointers and a couple of free throws by Berg. His last three-pointer came with 3.2 seconds on the clock. Killer.

In a flash, Berg had 12 points to lead Saguaro to a 37-30 lead.

Holstrom must have given a refresher on his game plan in the locker room because the Lancers scored five straight points by getting to the bucket to get back in the game. 37-35.

A three-pointer by Shawn Soelter and a bucket by Talbott Denny finally got them the lead at 42-41 with exactly 5 minutes left in third but Berg cashed in on two more three-pointers and freshman Matt Hauser poured in seven points to turn Salpointe back again.

56-51 Saguaro entering the final period.

Denny and senior Cory Carver scored four points each to fuel Salpointe’s third attempt at a comeback. The telling part of that exchange came when Denny missed the second half of a one-and-one with 5:24 left but Carver was able to get the rebound from the second position and score a quick bucket to bring Salpointe to within 60-59.

It demonstrated in a very concrete fashion that Salpointe could score if they took the ball anywhere near the bucket.

Mike Hauser hit a jumper to put Saguaro back up by three but Cameron Denson hit a three-pointer to tie it up at 62-62. Saguaro missed a three-pointer and then Salpointe junior Austin Sene got in the action and scored two acrobatic layups underneath to widen Salpointe’s lead to 66-62 with 3:30 left in the game.

Berg made one free throw 15 seconds later but Denson increased the margin to 68-63 after making his two free throws with 2:40 left.

Berg only scored three points in the last quarter but Mike Hauser put his team on his back and scored 10 of his 18 points in the last 2:20 of the game.

Mike Hauser drained a three-pointer to make it 68-66 Salpointe but Sene made another wild shot inside to put Salpointe back up 70-66 with 2:05 left. Mike Hauser responded by hitting a long jumper with 1:35 left.

Carver took the ball inside to put Salpointe up 72-68 with 1:06 left but Mike Hauser hit another three-pointer, 72-71 Salpointe with 50.1 seconds left.

Disaster struck as Salpointe threw the ball into the stands with 44.3 seconds left and Mike Hauser scored from the top of the key with 30.1 seconds left, 73-72 Saguaro.

Salpointe’s first two comeback attempts were brushed aside by Saguaro and it looked like the third attempt would be a heart breaker but Carver went inside again to put Salpointe up 74-73 with 9 seconds left.

“The ball was slapped as I went up,” explained Carver. “I kind of flipped it in after that.”

Saguaro called a timeout at midcourt with 3.1 second left to avoid a traveling call as Mike Hauser went to his knee while being guarded. It was probably one of the best things that could have happened to Salpointe.

“All five of our guys defended perfectly on the inbounds play,” said Holstrom. ‘We forced them to throw it to Hauser in the backcourt.”

Even though it took two seconds to get the ball back on his side, Mike Hauser took a dream shot that just bounced off the rim as time expired.

Berg still wound up with a game-high 23 points but Mike Hauser scored 18 and Marg added 17 for Saguaro.

Denny and Carver scored 20 each for Salpointe, Sene added 17 and Denson scored 10.

8 seed Salpointe now takes on top seed Arcadia in the quarterfinal round next Wednesday at ASU.

NOTE

Mike and Matt Hauser grew up in Salpointe’s gym. Their mother is none other than former Salpointe girl’s coach Mary Hauser.

Hauser had a long coaching career that included a state title in California before coaching the Lancers to the semifinals in 2002 with a team that included Sybil Dosty.

She then went back to coaching in California before heading up to coach Xavier to replace Jennifer Gillom who had moved on to the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

Hauser coached Xavier to the semifinals last year before retiring. “I got out of coaching so I could watch my sons play,” explained Hauser. “I have another one coming next year also.”

Her third son Josh is expected to join Mike and Matt on varsity next year. She can recall the times when her boys would play on the stage during practice but I bet she never dreamed they would combine for 25 points against the school where she once coached.

(3) Amphitheater took care of (14) Cactus Shadows 88-75 in another D-II second round game at home. The Panthers will now play (6) Sierra Linda at ASU before Salpointe takes the court in a quarterfinal match.

(10) Nogales will not be able to defend their title as they got turned back by (7) Paradise Valley 55-48 in their D-II second round game.

Apache seniors Joseph Monreal and Cesar Solis are being highly recruited by local junior colleges including Pima and Cochise.

________

Buena fell to Cesar Chavez in D-I action Saturday night. The second round loss ended the standout careers of Marcus Mears, Kyani Dillard and Marc Matthews.

________

The girls of Safford and Thatcher were upset in the second round of D-III action Saturday night. They were the only remaining teams from Southern Arizona in the division.

BOYS

Division I

Second Round
Saturday, February 18

(6) Cesar Chavez 65, (11) Buena 53

Division II

Second Round
Saturday, February 18

(3) Amphitheater 88, (14) Cactus Shadows 75
(8) Salpointe 74, (9) Saguaro 73
(7) Paradise Valley 55, (10) Nogales 48

Quarterfinals
Wednesday, February 22
All games at ASU

(3) Amphitheater vs. (6) Sierra Linda, 4:15 pm
(8) Salpointe vs. (1) Arcadia, 7:45 pm

Division III

Quarterfinals
Monday, February 20

(4) Thatcher vs. (12) Rio Rico, 2 pm in Prescott

Division IV

Quarterfinals
Thursday, February 23
Games in Prescott

(1) Desert Christian vs. (9) Grand Canyon, 7:30 pm
(3) Duncan vs. TBD, 1:30 pm

GIRLS

Division II

Quarterfinals
Tuesday, February 21
Games at Grand Canyon

(6) Flowing Wells vs. (3) Seton Catholic, 4:15 pm
(7) Palo Verde vs. (2) Saguaro, 6 pm

Division III

Second Round
Saturday, February 18

(13) Camp Verde 48, (4) Safford 21
(21) Chinle 50, (5) Thatcher 41

Division IV

Second Round
February 18
All games in Prescott

(7) Ft. Thomas 60, (10) San Miguel 46
(5) Joy Christian 51, (12) St. David 48, OT

Quarterfinals
Thursday, February 23
All games in Prescott

(3) Green Fields vs. (6) Joseph City, Noon
(8) Duncan vs. (1) Tempe Prep, 6 pm

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