Basketball sectional update: Empire almost pulls off upset
by Andy Morales on Feb. 06, 2013, under Sports
Empire almost took down the top seed in D-III action. Andy Morales Photo.
Cienega took Hamilton to three overtime periods before falling 61-55 in the first round of the Division I sectionals. Buena also lost in D-I action.
D-II went as planned except for a minor upset with Sahuaro beating Poston Butte 73-63. Desert Christian, St. Gregory and Duncan move on in D-IV play and Rio Rico and Benson will play in the D-III semifinals.
Empire almost pulled off the upset of the day but lost 57-52 to top seed Gilbert Christian on a game they had control of with 6 minutes left.
Gilbert Christian is a team that lives and dies by the 3-pointer. They hit one early to help build an 11-3 lead over Empire but they missed three in a row and Empire went on a run to tie the game up 11-11 with 54.3 seconds left in the first period.
Gilbert Christian found their touch and went on a 15-0 run on the strength of three -pointers in a row. Once again, Gilbert Christian went cold and could not score off of any set plays and Empire battled back to make it 30-27 Gilbert Christian at the half. Deion James scored seven of his game high 18 points in the run and Garrett Hacker pulled down seven also.
Isaiah Tracy put Empire ahead 37-36 with 3:50 left in the third and James would hit a 3-pointer later in the half to give Empire a 41-38 lead. Hacker scored again but Empire missed on a wide-open layup that would have extended the lead but Gilbert Christian went down and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. 43-41 Empire after three periods.
Empire appeared to recover and built a47-41 lead with 6:25 left in the game but they started attacking the basket and the result was a multitude of turnovers that Sam Jones was able to turn into eight points at the other end to pace Gilbert Christian to a 55-49 lead with 1:03 left in the game.
Grant Plouck hit a 3-pointer with 53.1 seconds left to make it 55-52 but that was as close as they would get and Gilbert would go on to win 57-52.
James finished with 18, Hacker 15, Tracy 7, Plouck 7 and Adam Wetzel scored 5 for Empire. Jones scored 16 and Keaton Ranger scored 13 for Gilbert Christian.
BOYS DIVISION I/SECTION II
Wednesday, February 6
3 Hamilton 61, 6 Cienega 55, 3 OT
2 Gilbert 43, 7 Buena 27
BOYS DIVISION II/SECTION I
Wednesday, February 6
1 Catalina Foothills 69, 8 CDO 58
2 Nogales 51, 7 Amphi 36
3 Salpointe 46, 6 Cholla 41
5 Sahuaro 73, 4 Poston Butte 63
SEMIFINALS
Friday, February 8
1 Catalina Foothills vs. 5 Sahuaro, 7:30 pm at Amphi
2 Nogales vs. 3 Salpointe, 5:45 pm at Amphi
BOYS DIVISION III/SECTION II
Wednesday, February 6
7 Benson 47, 2 Thatcher 41
4 Rio Rico 57, 5 Morenci 48
3 Florence 66, 6 Safford 64
1 Gilbert Christian 57, 8 Empire 52
SEMIFINALS
Friday, February 8
4 Rio Rico vs. 1 Gilbert Christian, 7:30 pm at Cholla
7 Benson vs. 3 Florence. 4:30 pm at Cholla
BOYS DIVISION IV/SECTION II
Wednesday, February 6
2 Desert Christian 55, 7 Hayden 43
3 Duncan 69, 6 St. David 53
4 St. Gregory 72, 5 Pima 45
1 Ray 90, 8 San Miguel 63
SEMIFINALS
Friday, February 8
2 Desert Christian vs. 3 Duncan, 4:30 pm at Cienega
4 St. Gregory vs. 1 Ray, 7:30 pm at Cienega
GIRLS DIVISION II/SECTION I
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, February 7
2 Flowing Wells vs. 6 Queen Creek, 5:45 at Amphi
4 CDO vs. 8 Sabino, 7:30 pm at Amphi
GIRLS DIVISION III/SECTION II
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, February 7
1 Safford vs. 5 Gilbert Christian, 6 pm at Cholla
2 Thatcher vs. 3 Benson, 3pm at Cholla
GIRLS DIVISION IV/SECTION II
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, February 7
1 Duncan vs. 4 Fort Thomas, 6 pm at Cienega
3 Desert Christian vs. 7 St. David, 3 pm at Cienega
