With a 24-team bracket we can finally call a quarterfinal game a true quarterfinal. I will never call a second-round match of a 16-team bracket a quarterfinal – that’s just silly. If there was a four-team bracket would we call the first round game a semifinal?….

The biggest surprise of the Division II playoffs came Saturday night with the 18 seed Agua Fria knocking off the 2 seed Catalina Foothills 82-70.

The Falcons led 55-48 heading into the fourth quarter but were outscored 34-15 in the final period.

Sunnyside fell in D-I action in what amounted to another close game for the Blue Devils – a 10-point loss on the road to an 8 seed. This is the best year Sunnyside has had a long while thanks to head coach Rob Harrison, who moved over from heading up the girl’s program at Cienega, and freshman standout Jacob Inclan.

Sahuaro and Nogales advanced in D-II action along with Salpointe. While Sahuaro and Salpointe will have heated quarterfinal matches against the top team and the third team respectively, Nogales will benefit from Agua Fria’s upset at Catalina Foothills.

The AIA avoided several games between two Tucson teams in the quarterfinals being played far away in north Glendale and a possible Nogales/Foothills game was one of them. It would have been an excellent test to see of they would have allowed a Tucson semifinal match in the name of saving money…doubtful….

Cholla fell to Paradise Valley in the other D-II game of the night.

The Duncan boys and girls continue to advance but the boys will now face the top seed in the D-IV quarterfinals.

Updates from around the state:

From the Cienega loss to Pinnacle (Richard Obert of azcentral.com):
” Cienega (21-8), which beat Avondale Westview in overtime Thursday in the first round, tied Pinnacle at 51 entering the final quarter on Terrence Johnson’s put-back dunk at the buzzer. It capped a 7-0 Cienega run in the final 1:43 of the quarter.

…..Cienega didn’t make a field goal in the final 6:45.”

From Buena’s loss to Desert Mountain (Matt Hickman of svherald.com):
” Desert Mountain couldn’t miss a shot, Buena couldn’t make one, and Saturday night’s second-round game in the Division I State Tournament was over almost as soon as it started.”

Salpointe’s win over Greenway (azstarnet.com):
” Both teams traded baskets early in the third quarter, before Salpointe’s leading scorer Cameron Denson got in rhythm and the Lancers closed on a 7-0 run as part of a 18-point quarter, to push the lead to 38-30.

…Salpointe went up as much as 16 and the Demons stormed back to close the gap to 53-48, before the Lancers pulled away for good.”

From St. Gregory’s loss to Scottsdale Prep (Jim Richards of azcentral.com):
“(Matt) Munsil finished with 21 points to lead Scottsdale Prep (21-5) into Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal against second-seeded Tucson Desert Christian, a 53-29 winner over Teec Nos Pos Red Mesa. Teammates Ben Arqueros chipped in 12, Ethan Wright 10 and Nick Smith eight.

St. Gregory guard Benny Louchheim scored most of his team’s points and brought his team back a couple of times to lead all scorers with 23 points.”

Desert Christian’s win over Red Mesa (Carol Brandon)
“The Desert Christian Eagles knew that they would be pressed and that ball handling would be a key to the game. After a rough start, the Eagles were up by three after one quarter. They extended their halftime lead to 26-18 with the help of five 3-pointers in the first half from seniors Ben Brandon (3) and Luke Gleason (2).

The Eagles really came to life in the third as they outscored Red Mesa 16-7 with the help of steals and easy lay-ups from Allen Bradley. Red Mesa got into foul trouble early in the second half. Desert finished the game by outscoring the Redskins 11-4 in the fourth to take the easy win, 53-29. Desert was led by Brandon and Gleason who each scored 13 points and Bradley with 8. Michael Shew, Jake Furrier, and Blake Trout all had 4 points.”

Safford girls win over Many Farms (Brian Brown of azcentral.com):
” Safford broke open a close game in the second quarter and coasted to a 47-40 win over Many Farms in a Division III second-round state tournament game at the Walkup Skydome at Northern Arizona University.

Safford’s Jordan Abalos scored 18 points to key the win.”

Desert Christian girls loss to AZ Lutheran (Zach Buchanan of azcentral.com):
” Down one in the fourth quarter, No. 10 Arizona Lutheran (19-10) watched a total of 3:35 tick off the clock without a point being scored.

That span began just after Arizona Lutheran’s Tatum Biciolis broke a streak of 16 missed ALA shots with a baseline jumper to cut No. 7 Desert Christian’s lead to 27-26 with 4:57 left.

…As Desert Christian went into another one of its holding patterns with under 1:30 left, Arizona Lutheran guard Emily Neeb took a chance. She lunged at the ball near the right sideline by halfcourt and poked it loose.

Falling to the ground, Neeb tossed the ball upcourt to guard Janie Unkefer, who dished to Jordan McCoy for a reverse layup. Arizona Lutheran led 28-27 with 1:22 remaining.”

From St. Gregory’s loss to Rock Point (Jim Richards of azcentral.com)
” Katelynn Harvey scored four points and Athene Hummingbird hit a 3-point shot as Rock Point outscored St. Gregory 14-6 in the second quarter, closing the quarter with a 7-0 run for the game’s biggest lead to that point, 25-18 at the half.

St. Gregory battled back in the third. Jennie Bass scored on consecutive runners and Amanda Gomez scored on a short jumper to cut the Rock Point lead to 27-24, but, again, Rock Point closed strong with two baskets from Begaye and a 3-pointer from Johnson for a 34-25 lead after three quarters.”

BOYS DIVISION I

Saturday, February 16
3 Pinnacle 73, 19 Cienega 59
5 Desert Mountain 84, 21 Buena 40
8 Millenium 68, 24 Sunnyside 58

BOYS DIVISION II

Saturday, February 16: 7 pm
18 Agua Fria 82, 2 Catalina Foothills 70
6 Salpointe 57, 11 Greenway 48
7 Nogales 59, 10 Poston Butte 57
8 Sahuaro 72, 9 Saguaro 62
4 Paradise Valley 60, 13 Cholla 28
3 Sierra Linda 59, 19 Amphi 36

QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, February 20
6 Salpointe vs. 3 Sierra Linda at Jobing.com Arena: 4:15 pm
7 Nogales vs. 18 Agua Fria at Jobing.com Arena: 6 pm
8 Sahuaro vs. 1 Sunnyslope at Jobing.com Arena: 7:45 pm

BOYS DIVISION IV

Saturday, February 16
2 Desert Christian 53, 18 Red Mesa 29
9 Duncan 77, 8 Yuma Catholic 67
7 Scottsdale Prep 55, 10 St. Gregory 43
5 Ray 76, 12 St. David 62

QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, February 21
2 Desert Christian vs. 7 Scottsdale Prep at Tim’s Toyota Center: 4:30 pm
9 Duncan vs. 1 Joy Christian at Tim’s Toyota Center: 7:30 pm

GIRLS DIVISION II

QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday, February 19
6 Flowing Wells vs. 14 South Mountain at Jobing.com Arena: 4:15 pm

GIRLS DIVISION III

Saturday, February 16
8 Safford 47, 9 Many Farms 40

QUARTERFINALS
Monday, February 18
8 Safford vs. 1 Winslow at Tim’s Toyota Center: 7:30 pm

GIRLS DIVISION IV

Saturday, February 16
3 Duncan 66, 14 Phoenix Christian 44
10 AZ Lutheran 28, 7 Desert Christian 27
9 Rock Point 46, 8 St. Gregory 41
1 Salt River 54, 16 Valley Union 21

QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, February 21
3 Duncan vs. 6 Salome at Tim’s Toyota Center: Noon

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