The Ray Bearcats played their way into the Division IV, Section II finals with two wins before taking on defending champs Desert Christian but fell short of the sectional championship.
This was the second time this season that the two teams met. In the first tilt Ray won by 15 and Desert returned the favor by taking down the ‘Cats last Saturday 62-44.
It was a very close start with the game tied at 12 after the first quarter. Then Desert went on a frenzy and outscored the ‘Cats 17-3 in the second to take a 29-15 lead into halftime. Ray came out strong in the third and made a bit of a run, but Desert still outscored them 15-9 to lead 44-24 after three.
Ray’s leading scorer Eric Goodwin came to life in the fourth and scored 17 of his 23 points on the night. The ‘Cats cut the lead to 11 by outscoring Desert 20-18 but it was enough and had to settle for a second place finish.
In the games leading up to the sectional championship, Ray overwhelmed the San Miguel Vipers 90-63 Wednesday and took down the St. Gregory Hawks 58-48 on Friday.
The Bearcats will head to the State Play-offs this weekend in Prescott.
Bearcats head to state championships this weekend