Nicewander scores six, ties Kofa goals record

Kofa senior striker Tiernan Nicewander definitely ate his Wheaties on Friday morning.

Faced with the task of scoring seven goals to break the Kofa goal record of 34 by Donal Landrum, the Kofa senior went on a six-goal rampage on Friday night, leading Kofa past Youngker in an 8-0 mercy rule drubbing.

Nicewander posted a stat line of six goals and an assist. Senior striker Jovanni Villegas scored one goal with two assists, while junior midfielder Nolan Garcia had a goal and an assist. His mark resulted in 34 goals on the season to tie the record.

It’s also worth noting that Nicewander’s mark came during an era where games are called due to mercy rule at 8-0. Kofa won three games by mercy rule this season. When Landrum set the record, the 8-0 mercy rule did not exist, meaning Nicewander set the record in an era which confines the maximum score of each contest.

Nicewander finishes the season as the top scorer in 5A and 6A in the state.

Kofa finishes its season at 8-4 with a Central Valley title to boot. It will likely compete in a 5A play-in game in order to keep playing in the postseason. The Kings find out who they will play on Tuesday.

Cibola beats Carl Hayden in overtime

The Raiders finished their last regular season game on top, beating Carl Hayden 2-1 in overtime. Senior midfielder Luis Lopez scored in the 47th minute, with senior midfielder Gael Castro scoring the game-winner in the first half of overtime. Strong defense against an offensive-minded team also propelled Cibola to a winning result.

Cibola will find out their opponent in a potential postseason run on Tuesday.

BOYS BASKETBALL Yuma Catholic beats Kingman

Yuma Catholic added another win to its unbeaten season against Kingman on Friday night, defeating the Bulldogs 54-34.

Sophomore Braden Moore led all scorers with 17. Sophomore center Fernando Vazquez added 14.

YC plays River Valley on the road on Saturday.

GIRLS BASKETBALL Gila Ridge beats Tolleson

The Hawks took down

Tolleson on the road on Friday night, winning 49-34. Junior Bella Decorse scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win. The Hawks finish their season at 7-8.

Shamrocks bounce back against Bulldogs

Yuma Catholic girls basketball bounced back from a loss against Imperial earlier this week, beating Kingman by 30, 62-32.

Sophomore guard/ forward Amanda Wiley scored 20 points with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Senior forward Rian Martinez scored 18 with seven rebounds while se

knit cap as he sat on the bench in the same building where he scored 70 points in 2017. He hasn’t played since sustaining a groin injury on Christmas; it was just the second time he has joined the team on a road trip since.

“I’m mindful of what I say because I don’t want to get everybody excited about it, or depress everybody, either. It’s just where he is,” Suns coach Monty Williams said before the game. “We do feel like he’s getting closer and closer to coming back.”

The Suns lost nine of their first 11 games after the three-time All-star went out, but have won seven of the last nine while they wait for his return, which could come during current the five-game road trip.

“For us to win it without Book is big for everyone’s confidence, because he will be back shortly,” center

Jock Landale said. “We would have liked to win a few more games, but now that we’re winning a lot of games and he’s on the verge of coming back, it’s big for us.”

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 for the Celtics, who beat the Brooklyn Nets by 43 points on Wednesday and beat the Suns by 27 in December. But the two Boston All-stars shot a combined 12 for 36 from the floor and 6 for 22 from 3-point range.

The Suns led 74-73 to start the fourth quarter before running off the next eight points, prompting Boston coach Joe Mazzulla to call a timeout. Derrick White drove for a layup to snap the slump, but Damion Lee and Saric hit backto-back 3s, and the Celtics never got closer than six from there.

The Celtics scored the first seven points of the game, but quickly gave it all back. Phoenix scored the next 12, with Ayton

putting in three straight baskets to start the run.

The Suns started the second quarter with backto-back 3-pointers by Ish Wainright and Lee – sparking another 8-0 run that helped them open a 32-20 lead. It was up to 20 points with four minutes left in the second before Tatum hit his first basket of the game – a 3-pointer – as Boston scored 11 in a row before going into the half trailing 57-44.

TIP-INS

Tatum missed his first six shots . ... Wainright sank a full-court shot, but it was just after the buzzer to end the third quarter. ... Boston’s Luke Kornet left early in the fourth and limped to the locker room. ... The Celtics took the court on Jan. 23 with a 3512 record and a nine-game winning streak.

UP NEXT

Suns: At Detroit on Saturday.

Celtics: At Detroit on Monday night.