GERONIMO – What was a tough season for the Waurika boys hoopsters ended here last Thursday night in the Class A Regional Tournament.
The Eagles fell in the consolation quarterfinals to Empire, 52-49.
In two previous meetings with the Bulldogs, the Eagles were dominated, but not on this afternoon contest in the Geronimo Dome.
The Eagles led or were tied with the Bulldogs until the final 20 seconds in the heart-breaking loss in Thursday’s game.
The Eagles got off to a good start with offensive rebounds and put backs by Treyton Torrez and Slade Cathey to give Waurika 4-0 lead with 6:27 left in the first quarter.
The rest of the period was a battle, but after Torrez hit a 10-footer at the 1:19 mark, Waurika held a 13-6 advantage.
Empire, however, scored the final five points of the quarter and trimmed the Waurika lead to 13-11.
At the beginning of the second quarter the Eagles took charge as they went on a 11-0 run that was capped by Isaac Camarillo’s layup at the 4:54 mark of the period. This gave Waurika a 24-11 lead – their biggest lead of the game.
Waurika went cold for the rest of the half and Empire chipped away at the lead as the Bulldogs outscored the Eagles, 9-2, the rest of the second quarter and trailed only 26-20 at the break.
The Eagles built another big lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter with a 12-5 scoring run that gave Waurika a 38-25 lead with 4:24 remaining in the quarter.
The Bulldogs once again battled back and when Mcray Weber hit a three-pointer with 37.7 seconds left in the quarter, Empire had trimmed the Eagle advantage to 41-34.
A pair of free throws by the Bulldogs pulled Empire to within five to open the fourth quarter, but Malachi Dodson answered for the Eagles with a three-pointer and with 6:35 left in the game, Waurika led, 44-36.
As they had throughout the game, the Bulldogs put on a scoring burst and this time the Eagles could not keep pace.
From the 6:35 mark to the final 30 seconds, the Eagles managed only three points. Meanwhile the Bulldogs began to hit from the outside and converted five free throws until, at the 1:03 mark, Empire tied the game at 47-47.
The final minute was a flurry of activity. Waurika missed a trey and Empire grabbed the rebound and after the Bulldogs missed a field goal attempt, Torrez was fouled on the rebound and he connected on two free throws with 30.2 seconds left to give the Eagles a 49-47 lead.
After a Waurika timeout, Empire quickly moved down the court and after a couple of passes found Weber open at the top of the key where he nailed a three-point to put Empire in front, 50-49, with 20 seconds showing on the clock.
The Bulldogs called timeout, but Waurika had an opportunity for a final shot. A missed three-pointer went awry with five seconds to go and as Empire grabbed the rebound a foul was whistled on Waurika as well as a technical foul.
This gave Empire four free throw attempts with 2.4 seconds left and the Bulldogs hit two of four to provide the final margin.
The main reason the Eagles were able to stay in the game was their domination on the boards. The Eagles outrebounded Empire, 36-20, for the game.
But, in the final quarter when the Bulldogs made the final surge, the Eagles were outrebounded, 8-3.
Torrez led the Eagles in scoring with 22 points, but he was the only Eagle in double figures.
Empire was eliminated from the playoffs last Friday night as the Bulldogs fell to Oklahoma Christian Academy, 51-31.
Waurika finished the season with a 6-17 record, but the Eagles were extremely competitive in five of the last seven games of the season and for the most part were playing their best basketball of the season down the stretch.
EAGLE REGIONAL RUMBLINGS AND MORE: This was the first regional tournament appearance for a Waurika boys’ basketball team since 2019….Overall, the Eagles have made 47 appearances in regional tournament play with the first appearance coming in 1929….Waurika is now 42-46 in all regional tournament games…Waurika is 0-2 against Empire in regional tournament play….The Eagles are now 4-2 against the Bulldogs in all playoff basketball games… In the two previous meetings with Empire this season the Eagles gave up six and seven three-pointers, but allowed only four treys to Empire in the regional tourney game – but the final trey by Empire was the difference maker in the contest….The Eagles were only 2-8 this season when giving up six or more three-pointers in a game….The six wins for the Eagles is the fewest since the Eagles won only four contests in 2018….The 17 losses is the most since the Eagles had 18 losses in the 2018 season….Garret Bachand completed his third season and he is 33-36 as coach of the Eagles with this season being the only non-winning season in his tenure as coach of the Eagles….The Eagles won three of their first four games, but only three of their final 16 contests.
Empire 52, Waurika 49
(Boys Cons. Quarterfinals)
Waurika
13 13 15 8—49
Empire
11 9 14 18—52
WAURIKA – Treyton Torrez 8-6-22, Isaac Camarillo 4-0-9, Slade Cathey 4-1-9, Malachi Dodson 2-0-6, Gavin Torrez 1-0-3. TOTALS: 19-7-49. PF: 20. Three-pointers: Dodson 2, Camarillo, G. Torrez.
EMPIRE – McCray Weber 9-6-26, Easton Beck 2-5-11, Nycolas Spigner 2-4-8, Brodric Spigner 3-0-6, Colby Boyd 0-1-1. TOTALS: 16-16-52. PF: 16. Three-pointers: Weber 2, Beck 2.
