The Sand Devils have had a roller-coaster season, but now strive go for the title.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, below, or purchase a new subscription.
Please log in to continue |
The Sand Devils basketball team placed third at the 3A Regional championship playoffs in Chinle’s Wildcat Den last Saturday.
They advance to the Conference Division playoff on Wednesday at Sand Devil’s home court against Kingman in the first round of the state playoffs.
The third place banner followed a stellar year, the high point of which was an eleven-game win streak with an average 10-point lead over their opponent mid season.
However, they struggled the last three games leading up to the 3A regional playoffs but they maintained their number two 3A rankings to advance to the regional qualifier’s second round on Friday.
The Sand Devils took on the Window Rock Fighting Scouts in the second round of the tournament, maintaining the fast-break pace they’re known for. The Scouts were able to match the Sand Devils point for point and play for play. The Sand Devils had trouble with in-and-out buckets and were unable to put enough points between them and the Scouts. By the fourth quarter energy was high as they gave it a good run but couldn’t regain the lead. It was a nail biter to the last second with the Scouts taking the win with a score of 43-44 to advance to the Championship round.
The Sand Devils, not yet ready to give up, advanced to the third place round against the Tuba City Warriors.
Sand Devils and Warriors took the court in the much-awaited rematch vying for the third-place banner.
The Sand Devils broke open the scoreboard landing the first basket and continued the gangbuster style they’re known for. They scored eight points before the Warriors could find the net. Mid-quarter the Warriors found their stride and by the end of the quarter they had caught up with the Sand Devils. The score at the end of the first quarter was tied at 12.