Cibola ready for 6A tourney
Raiders receive No. 4 seed; YC No. 2 in 3A, Gila Ridge No. 16 in 4A
Spurs advance to 2nd round with win over Grizzlies
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, and the San Antonio Spurs advanced to the Western Conference semifinals by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 103-96 Thursday night to take the series 4-2.
The Spurs now have beaten Memphis four of the five playoff series between these teams, and this was San Antonio’s second straight win over the Grizzlies in the first round.
Tony Parker added 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Patty Mills had 10 points off the bench for the Spurs. San Antonio outrebounded Memphis 46-28, with 16 of those offensive boards. That led to 17 second-chance points.
Their semifinal with Houston will start Monday night in San Antonio.
Raptors blow 25-point lead, still beat Bucks
MILWAUKEE — DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and the Toronto Raptors squandered a 25-point lead late in the third quarter before holding on for a 92-89 victory Thursday night over the Milwaukee Bucks to take their first-round playoff series in six games.
Cory Joseph had five points in a 9-0 run in the final 2 minutes, including a 3-pointer with 1:27 left, to help stave off the pesky Bucks.
The Raptors move on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals in a series that starts Monday. They’ll need to work on finishing off opponents in the second half.
Jason Terry’s 3 with 3:06 left gave the Bucks an 80-78 lead, completing an unlikely comeback from the 25-point deficit with 5:16 left in the third quarter. The Raptors looked as if they were on cruise control after DeMarre Carroll’s 3 gave them the 71-46 advantage.
For the second year in a row, the Cibola softball team enters the postseason with an impressive record and a high ranking.
But if the Raiders are to match last year’s run to the Division III semifinals, they will have to do it in a much tougher division.
Cibola learned its postseason draw Thursday with the AIA’s release of the 16-team state tournament brackets for all six classifications, as the Raiders received 6A’s No. 4 seed and a first-round date with No. 13 Rincon.
Gila Ridge (No. 16 in 4A) and Yuma Catholic (No. 2 in 3A) also learned their draws Thursday.
For the Raiders (17-1 AIA), the No. 4 seed is important in that it means the possibility of playing two home games. If they beat the Rangers (910) in Saturday’s 10:15 a.m. game, they’ll host the winner No. 5 Perry vs. No. 12 Red Mountain in the second round on Tuesday. Of course, Cibola coach Shelly Baumann isn’t looking that far ahead yet, nor did she overly stress about what seed her team would receive.
“Whoever we’ve got to play, that’s how it goes,” she said Thursday. “I wasn’t sure where we’d be, so I’m excited to play Rincon.”
Saturday’s game will mark the first time in two years that Cibola plays following a loss. Last year, the Raiders went 18-0 in the regular season before falling to Payson in the Division III semifinals as the No. 1 overall seed. This year, they won their first 17 games before losing, 8-0, to Tucson High in the 6A Southern Region championship game on Monday.
Baumann said she’s seen her players react well in wake of the rare defeat.
“Practice has been really good this week,” she said. “We covered the little things every day, and the kids have been upbeat and they’re excited. Each night we talk about something mental, having a good attitude at the plate, how you go into (the playoffs), trying to prepare.”
Baumann said she doesn’t know too much about Rincon, but did point out that she got some feedback from San Luis’ coaches, as the Sidewinders just played — and lost, 12-2, to — the Rangers on Monday.
This marks Cibola’s third straight state appearance, and ninth in the past 10 years.
YC ‘super excited’ about 2-seed
Like Cibola, Yuma Catholic also is coming off a season in which it made