Mustangs throttle Tigers in regional opener
By Nick Prevenas
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 11:39 PM MST
File photo Darnell Shumpert (right) takes a jump shot over Rey Cuestas during a mid-season practice at the Sahuarita High School gym. On Monday, Shumpert was named to the All-Conference First Team-the first Mustang junior to receive the honor in 17 years.
"I´m feeling good with how our team is playing," said 3A Coach of the Year Scott Boyter. "I would have liked that bye that comes with being the top seed, but at this point, it´s good to get another game in and stay sharp."
The Tigers (7-13, 3-9) were riding a strong wave of momentum into Sahuarita last night after their 73-68 upset victory over Seton Catholic (17-9, 9-3) on Thursday.
But that momentum quickly dissapeared when three of Globe´s seniors were suspended for skipping class.
The depleted Tigers hung tough until Sahuarita closed the first half on a 16-1 run on their way to a dominating 78-40 victory.
In more positive news for the Mustangs, three players were recognized for their outstanding seasons by the 3A South coaches on Monday.
Shumpert, a 6-foot 7-inch junior, was the first junior from Sahuarita to be named to the First Team in 17 years. He joins Mike Barlow from Seton Catholic, Jamal McKinney from Coolidge and Ron Briggs and Chaz Hampton from Santa Cruz (Eloy) on the First Team. He averaged just over nine points, eight rebounds and eight blocked-shots per game this season.
Cueto, a senior forward, was named to the All-Conference Second Team, with averages of approximately 10 points and six rebounds per contest.
Rieman began the season as Sahuarita´s scoring spark-plug off the bench, but the junior worked his way into the starting rotation for the stretch run. His averages of eight points, four rebounds and four assists earned him an Honorable Mention spot on the squad.
On Thursday, the Mustangs traveled to Florence, hoping to abolish the memory of last Tuesday´s 66-51 home loss to the Coolidge Bears.
Sahuarita cut down on the turnovers and played the type of game Boyter has come to expect from his boys, resulting in an 87-52 shellacking of the cellar-dwelling Gophers (4-21, 0-12).
The Mustangs only led by eight at intermission, but rediscovered their defensive intensity and ran away from the Gophers in the second half.
Shumpert and Cueto led the scoring attack with 16 points each. Alejandro Pardi and Rey Cuestas came in off the bench to add 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Shumpert also pulled down 13 rebounds, with Cuestas grabbing 11 and Cueto adding seven.
Next up for the Mustangs will be a trip to Coolidge for a rematch with the Bears (15-10, 9-3) in the second round of the regional tournament tomorrow.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9736