Isaiah Attles wasn’t feeling like himself, nor was the Pueblo senior looking like himself — literally.
“Someone stole my jersey,” he said. “Somebody stole my whole bag — my shoes, my jersey, everything.”
So when it came time to suit up for Pueblo’s first-round state tournament basketball game on Tuesday night, Attles wore No. 24 instead of his standard No. 11. And for the first three quarters against Flowing Wells, he was somewhat quiet.
Then everything fit just right.
Attles scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as 11th-seeded Pueblo topped the No. 22 Caballeros 62-48 to reach the second round of postseason for the second straight year.
“It threw me off a bit,” Attles said about his gear changes. “But you know we had to focus up because it’s playoff basketball, one and done.”
The Warriors (19-9) travel to play sixth-seeded Fort Defiance Window Rock on Friday night with a chance to reach the boys Division III state quarterfinals. Pueblo’s postseason in 2015 came to an end in the second round of the Division II tournament, with a 61-56 loss to Gilbert Christian, the eventual state champion.
“It’s real cool to see the guys get another opportunity to play in the playoffs, for Pueblo and the south side,” second-year coach Kelvin Eafon said. “The chance to go and get a championship, that’s what it’s about.”
Pueblo entered Tuesday’s game having won eight of its last nine, with a 69-61 double-overtime victory over Flowing Wells in the Division III, Section III tournament last week.
The visiting Caballeros, who beat Pueblo 59-56 on Jan. 12, led 13-11 after the first quarter Tuesday night, but the Warriors caught fire from there.
Senior Justin Pledger, who scored 16 points, gave Pueblo its first lead of the game and sparked a 15-0 run when he hit a pair of free throws 35 seconds into the second quarter. Less than a minute later, Attles drained a three to make it 17-13, but that was his only basket in the period.
Jesus Lopez sank a triple with 3:39 left in the quarter to put Pueblo ahead by 11 points, and then Pledger hit a fast-break layup about 30 seconds later to finish off the run and put the Warriors up 26-13
“We calmed down more, we started playing as a team more and started controlling the ball better,” Pledger said. “It felt good (to get a win) but I feel like I could have done better; I feel like I slacked on some things and I’m going to pick it up next game.”
Flowing Wells fought its way back into the game and trailed by five at the midpoint. The Caballeros managed to stay within striking distance heading into the fourth quarter but that’s when Attles began to get his rhythm back.
With the Warriors clinging to a six-point lead, Attles drained a three to make it 48-39 with 5:11 left in the game. Then Lopez sank a triple of his own to push Pueblo’s lead to 12 points.
Attles converted a three-point play with 1:53 remaining to all but seal the game, with the Warriors up 54-42. He hit two more buckets down the stretch to eliminate any chance Flowing Wells had at making a comeback.
“My shots weren’t dropping in the first half and I knew my team needed me so I stepped up,” Attles said. “This is great; we’re trying to make history here.”
