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By Frank Smith
The Miners varsity basketball team took the hardwood during the holiday break, picking up wins against the Greenfield Griffins and the Hayden Lobos.
On Dec. 16, the Miners took the trip to Tucson to face off against the Griffins with San Manuel dominating the scoreboard 50 – 23 to pick up the win.
The Miners jumped out to a 17 – 1 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter San Manuel continued to light up the scoreboard dropping 20 points in the quarter while holding Greenfields to only six points to put the Miners up by 30 points with the score of 37 – 7. San Manuel slowed down the pace in the third quarter only scoring eight points as Greenfields chipped in three points for a 45 – 10 Miners lead. In the fourth quarter the Miners scored five points while the Griffins produced 13 points for a final of 50 – 23.
Leading the Miners was John Sanchez with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. Adrian Rodriguez scored nine points with one assist, two steals and one block. Andre Sierra scored eight points with two rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block. Clark Montano scored seven points with five rebounds, one assist and two steals. Daniel Perez scored four points with one rebound, four assists, and four steals. Marcos Sierra scored four points with four rebounds, four steals and one block. Andy Monfred scored three points with four rebounds, one steal and one block. Kyle Bowman scored two points with four rebounds and two steals. Ronald Goode scored two points with one rebound. Nathan Johnston scored one point.
The Miners headed to Hayden on Dec. 21 to take on the Lobos. San Manuel had a hard time getting started with Hayden, taking an early lead but the Miners would come back and take the 48 – 35 win.
In the first quarter, the Miners could only score two points as the Lobos dropped in nine points. San Manuel picked up the pace scoring 14 points to Hayden’s 11 points, to cut into the Lobo’s lead at 16 – 20 at the half. The Miners began to open it up scoring 16 points while holding the Lobos to only six to take the lead at 29 – 26. After starting out cold in the first half, the Miners turned up the heat scoring 19 fourth quarter points and only allowing the Lobos eight points. San Manuel would hold on to take the win over Hayden 48 – 35.
Leading the Miners was Andres Sierra with 13 points, two assists, six rebounds and six steals. John Sanchez scored 12 points with six rebounds and one block. Daniel Perez scored 11 points with two assists. Clark Montano had one block.
“This was a huge win for us before Christmas break. Hayden had us down 19 to 4 at the beginning of the game. We were shooting too many threes at the beginning of the game,” Head Coach Ryan Sichting said. “We started to attack their zone defense instead of settling for perimeter jump shots. Then we scored easy baskets from our press. I’m proud of how our team responded from adversity. I’m looking forward to the second half of the season.”
The Miners will head to Tucson to play Immaculate Heart today with the JV taking the court at 4 p.m. and the varsity tipping it off at 7 p.m. San Manuel will then host Duncan on Friday with the JV playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6:30 p.m.
The Miners will host Greenfields on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m.
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