Jose Estrada scored a game-high 31 points on Thursday night but none were bigger than his two from the free-throw line with 32.8 seconds remaining.
The Nogales senior point guard drained two crucial foul shots and the No. 21 Apaches held on to upset 12th-seeded Tucson High 69-67 in the first round of the boys Division II state tournament. Nogales, which reached the semifinals a year ago, plays at fifth-seeded defending state champion Gilbert Christian on Saturday night.
“I felt the pressure but I knew I needed to make them,” Estrada said about his free throws. “It was a big win because we want to get as far as we can.”
Fellow senior captain Adalberto Diaz added 26 points and shot 4 for 5 from three-point range to help Nogales avenge a 84-83 loss to the Badgers earlier this season.
“I just didn’t want this to be my last game,” Diaz said. “I had been practicing my three-point shots and my confidence was up I guess.”
Gilbert Christian is led by former Ironwood Ridge standout and Kansas signee Mitch Lightfoot, who averages 22.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
“He’s an amazing player but I’m looking forward to it,” Nogales coach Ricardo De La Riva said. “I like to play against good competition.
“I don’t think they’re going to kill us — our kids are relentless; they’re fighters.”
Had Estrada missed both of his late free throws, Tucson would have tied the score at 67 when Deondre Eason drained a three-pointer with 15.8 seconds remaining. Instead, that made it a two-point game and the Badgers were unable to score on their final possession with a chance to win it or force overtime.
“We went through a stretch were we couldn’t score any buckets,” Tucson coach Daron Cross said. “They played some solid defense on us, got some blocks on us and we missed some crucial free throws that could have put us up a little more.”
Tucson brought plenty of momentum into Thursday game after pulling off back-to-back upsets against Salpointe Catholic and Catalina Foothills to win the Division II, Section IV championship and qualify for the state tournament.
The Badgers (16-14) led 50-44 late in the third quarter after a three-pointer by senior Parker Trujillo. But Diaz answered back with a triple of his own to keep the Apaches back within three.
Nogales worked its way back and tied the game at 56 with 6:21 left in the fourth after Estrada made a layup set up by a steal by Diaz. Eason hit a putback on Tucson’s next possession but, once again, Estrada found the equalizer with 5:33 remaining.
But 20 seconds after that, Diaz drained a go-ahead triple to give Nogales its first lead since early in the third quarter and Estrada added two more buckets to put the Apaches up 65-58 with 3:44 left in the fourth.
“Being in the final four last year, we just want to get back to an arena,” Diaz said. “Being seniors, it’s very important for us to go out with a bang and get as far as we can.”
After Tucson got back within three in the final minute, Estrada stepped up to the line and hit back to-back free throws. Nogales was unable to score after Eason’s three pointer, giving the Badgers the ball with 10.1 seconds left, but they were unable to capitalize before time expired.
“I’m very proud of these kids,” De La Riva said. “They told me, ‘We’re going to go in there and win, coach. Don’t worry, we’re going to win.’”
