BASKETBALL
bounds) were also crucial for the Hawks down the stretch.
“I’m just damn proud of them,” Daily said. “They don’t just throw the towel in when things are going rough for them.”
Tuesday was Cibola’s first full game without senior guard Michael Gazda. Gazda left the Raiders’ loss Thursday at Brawley (Calif.) with an unspecified injury, and coach Ron Bratton said after Tuesday’s game that Gazda is out for the season.
“It’s just heartbreaking, for people who put their heart and soul into something, to have it taken away from you,” Bratton said. “I still haven’t gotten over it. He’s fine; he’s there cheering on the kids, being there for everybody, being the great kid that he is. You don’t wish that on anybody, even your worst enemy.”
Gazda, an all-region selection in 2015-16, was averaging 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game this year.
Bratton did not want to blame the injury and the ensuing void created on the floor for Tuesday’s loss, which was Cibola’s first to Gila Ridge since the section championship game at the end of the 2014-15 season.
“You get out there and you expect your kids to per- form and play hard, and you have an environment where there’s a lot of people there,” Bratton said. “This is what you get excited for, and you put people out on the floor, and they shouldn’t have stage fright. They shouldn’t miss wide-open layups and wide-open shots, turn the ball over continuously, over and over again. … These are kids that have played in big games before, big state-playoff games.
“When you can’t score more than 40 points, it’s re- ally hard to do anything else. The guys who we had suited up today are good enough to win, and that’s the disappointing thing.”
Cibola and Gila Ridge will both be participating in tournaments over winter break before resuming AIA play in January. The Raiders will head up to Las Vegas next week, and the Hawks will begin the White Mountain Holiday Classic in Blue Ridge on Dec. 29.