Seen & heard: Nighthawks win again at MLK Classic, more highlights

Nighthawks win for second straight season

Ironwood Ridge’s girls experienced playing in the MLK Classic last January, when they rallied in the fourth quarter to take down Sahuaro 57-51.

Natalie Bartle and the Nighthawks were back in action at McKale Center on Monday, logging a win for the second year in a row and topping Marana 50-39. Bartle, a sophomore point guard, scored a game-high 20 points, and fellow sophomore Tessa McCall finished with 14.

“It’s really cool that we get to come back two years in a row because not everybody gets to do that,” Bartle said. “It was really fun.”

Fourth-year basketball coach Nikki Simpson brought her girls to the UA women’s game against Stanford on Jan. 2 to get a feel for the arena. The Nighthawks returned just two players — Bartle and Lexy Ram — who scored in last year’s game.

The big number

140. Total miles driven by the Sells Baboquivairi boys and girls teams to play in Monday’s MLK Classic. Out of the 12 other teams participating, none had a round trip longer than 50 miles and just two — Cienega and Marana — traveled more than 30. Tucson High’s girls squad had the quickest drive, being just 1.4 miles from McKale. Finding parking might have been a struggle, however.

Haney, born in same town as Iguodala, shines

Senior guard Shawn Haney ended up being the hero for Palo Verde in a 58-56 win against Flowing Wells on Monday, but that wasn’t the big highlight for him. Haney is from Springfield, Illinois, also the hometown of former Arizona Wildcats player Andre Iguodala, now an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors.

“It’s an honor,” Haney said about playing in McKale. “He’s from where I’m from and he played here, so it’s an honor.”

Haney, who finished with 10 points, hit a game-tying three-pointer in the final minute of the game and then a go-ahead triple with 19 seconds left to give the Titans the lead for good.

Quotable

“My stomach was turning before we even arrived at the arena. I’ve been thinking about this game for weeks. As it got closer and closer, my stomach started turning more and more. I thought it was going to be really nerve-wracking, but once I got on the court, it was really fun and it all went away.” — Marana sophomore guard Alyssa Perez, who had never been to a game at McKale before Monday.

A big game on an even bigger stage

Monday’s showdown between the Baboquivari and The Gregory School boys teams would have been big no matter where it was played: Baboquivari, a state semifinalist a year ago, entered the game ranked eighth in Division V, four spots behind the opposing Hawks.

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The fact that it was held at McKale just made it bigger.

Gregory held on for a 63-56 win behind a near triple-double from junior captain Nick Rosquist. The 6-foot guard finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while sophomore wing Addison Mort added 19 points and seven rebounds.

“It really just means a lot, coming here and playing at your home-city college and playing on this court in a huge arena,” said Rosquist, who also had five steals. “It was super fun.”

The Hawks held a two-point lead at halftime but opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run to pull away for good.

“The chance to come out and play on the McKale Center floor and represent not only our team and our school, but to represent the Tohono O’odham Nation, was something to really be proud of,” Baboquivari coach Bright Benson said. “I wish we could have played better, but we just had one of those days.”

Dunk of the day

Flowing Wells’ 6-foot-5-inch senior wing Jordan Behrend threw down a nasty game-tying putback late in the third quarter against Palo Verde. The Caballeros went on to lose a close one, but Behrend’s highlight was certainly one to remember.

Wildcats-turned-Warriors

Brandon Sanders, Kelvin Eafon and La- Monte Hunley used to roam around Mc-Kale a couple decades ago.

The three were back at their old stomping grounds Monday as Pueblo played Rincon/University in the nightcap of the MLK Classic.

“It feels good, Wildcats having a chance to walk onto the floor and coach on the floor,” said Sanders, Pueblo’s athletic director and football coach. “I’m more excited for Eafon coming back. I mean, our locker room was in here, we ran these halls.”

Eafon is in his second season as the boys hoops coach for the Warriors. Hunley, meanwhile, remains a close friend to Sanders and helped him get back into coaching. That’s part of why he was selected as Pueblo’s honoree for the event.

Giving back

Each of the 14 officials in the MLK Classic donated their $65 paycheck to the Boyd Baker scholarship fund. This year’s recipient of the award was Rincon/University junior Nicole Martin. Another scholarship is given in May at the TUSD Superintendent’s Cup.

Compiled by Daniel Gaona, Chuck Constantino and James Kelley