Nobody said winning five games and taking home the eighth annual White Mountain Holiday Classic title would be easy, and the Sedona Red Rock High boys basketball team found that out, failing to defend their championship from last season, finishing 3-2 overall.
Last season, the Scorpions did go 5-0 and did take home the tournament championship trophy but this year, in a seemingly more difficult pool of opponents, Sedona still came out with three wins.
By Brian Bergner Jr.
Larson Newspapers
Nobody said winning five games and taking home the eighth annual White Mountain Holiday Classic title would be easy, and the Sedona Red Rock High boys basketball team found that out, failing to defend their championship from last season, finishing 3-2 overall.
Last season, the Scorpions did go 5-0 and did take home the tournament championship trophy but this year, in a seemingly more difficult pool of opponents, Sedona still came out with three wins.
“There was plenty to take away from this past weekend’s tournament. We did some good things and we also discovered what things we need to continue to work on,” second-year Sedona head coach Bob Murphy said.
Finishing seventh overall, Sedona also received a prestigious award as junior forward Kevin Cox was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts on the floor, averaging 17.2 points and 10 rebounds per game over the weekend.
“Of course you want to come in and win this tournament, but we did some good things and I’m proud to represent my team with an all-tourney selection,” Cox said.
Sedona graduate Michael Krajnak is the only other Scorpion to ever receive an all-tournament selection at the White Mountain Holiday Classic.
Comeback Kings
When the Scorpions walked into the gymnasium after a three-hour van ride on Thursday, Jan. 1, they weren’t expecting to be down 60-50 with 3:58 to go and actually win a game over Show Low High, but that’s exactly what they did.
Putting aside their failures during the first three quarters and four minutes of the game, Sedona decided to man-up and take hold of what was theirs by outscoring Show Low 21-5 in the final minutes to go on to a 71-65 victory.
The best statistic of all might be the Scorpions scoring 36 points in the first three quarters, finding themselves down 45-36 going into the final period, but then scoring 35 points in the fourth quarter alone to go on to victory, after allowing only 17.
Cox was in foul trouble for most of the game but managed to score 13 points and pull eight rebounds while shooting 5-6 from the free throw line in the last minutes of the game to help seal the victory.
Senior Sammy Holeyfield scored 15 points and had four steals, while junior guard Thomas Wisbey had 11 points and eight rebounds in the victory.
Scorpions Do It Again
If Sedona could figure out how to get ahead of its opponents like it did earlier in the season and then hold the lead, like it couldn’t do earlier this year, Murphy would have a much easier time handling the ulcer that has developed during this, so-far, crazy basketball season.
Against Joseph City High in game two on Thursday, Sedona trailed once again entering the final period, this time by the score of 48-39, and again found a way to outscore its opponent to go on to victory.
This time however, an individual effort stands out more than the team effort, as senior guard Sergio Toscano personally handled Joseph City in the fourth quarter connecting on four three-point baskets in a row during a huge Sedona run.
Toscano added a bucket as well in the fourth quarter to score 14 of the Scorpions’ 25 points in the fourth quarter as they went on to victory, 64-60.
“I was on fire. I was glad to help the team any way I could,” Toscano said.
Toscano had 18 points on the game on 6-11 shooting and 4-5 from three-point range in the victory.
Cox wasn’t too far behind, scoring 24 points and pulling down 15 rebounds for Sedona in the comeback victory.
No Answer on Day Two
The Scorpion luck seemed to run out on day two of the tournament as Sedona faced Florence High on Friday, Jan. 2, and lost by the final score of 73-62.
Sedona found itself down 40-25 at halftime as the Scorpions had difficulty stopping the penetration of the solid Florence guards.
Cox did what he could in the game, especially in the third quarter, scoring eight of his 21 points in the period as Sedona started to wake up.
After a 22-14 third period by Sedona, the Scorpions still trailed 54-47 but the comeback kids were alive and well, looking for their third straight upset of the tournament.
The Scorpions did cut it to four and trailed 64-60 with three minutes to go but Florence turned it on late, outscoring a tired Sedona group 9-2 in the final minutes for the victory.
Sophomore point guard Martin Galvez added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists to the game.
A Special Moment
In day three of the tournament on Saturday, Jan. 3, the Sedona boys had a difficult time stopping the runaway freight train called St. John’s High as it went on to an 85-55 victory in the early morning hours.
What may be most impressive about the Sedona group was the class act Murphy and his bunch of players showed at the end of the game when a special education student named Bradshaw Spencer was put in by head coach Ryan Walsh for a chance to score the bucket of a lifetime.
Sedona players were well aware of the young man’s chance at glory and allowed him to go in for a layup as time expired for a score, something he won’t forget the rest of his life.
Final Push
The Scorpions wrapped up their tournament weekend with a big victory over Show Low who was looking to steal one from the Scorpions just as Sedona had done to it on Thursday.
Sedona led 19-6 going into the second quarter but Show Low decided to score 27 points in the second quarter and take a 33-31 halftime lead.
Cox and his 16 points and 15 rebounds would have none of it as Sedona put away Show Low in the third quarter with a 16-5 run and went on to win, 60-51.
Galvez had 10 points and eight rebounds, while senior Stadler Ho was unstoppable on the defensive side with five steals, giving Sedona the boost it was looking for.
“It was a good tournament for us. We found out some things about ourselves this weekend,” Ho said.
Wrap Up
With the three victories Sedona now enters 3A-West region play with a 6-8 [0-0, 3A-West] overall record which began on Tuesday, Jan. 6, against 3A defending state champion Estrella Foothills High.
Results were unavailable at press time.
The next home game for Sedona will be on Friday, Jan. 16, against Chino Valley High. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Brian Bergner Jr. can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 131, or e-mail bbergner@larsonnewspapers.com
