Needles notches two titles

With a one-point halftime lead, Agassi Prep's boys basketball team was in position to win the Class 2A Southern League tournament title game.

The second half, however, left the Stars with plenty to work on heading to the state tournament.

Needles dominated defensively after halftime in a 71-59 win over Agassi Prep to take the league tournament Saturday at Durango. The Stars were held to 19 points and shot 7-for-35 from the floor in the second half.

"We didn't come out in the third quarter like we wanted," Stars coach William Hopkins said. "We missed shots and missed free throws, and you can't do that against a quality team."

Despite the loss, Agassi Prep (15-8) advanced as the South's No. 2 seed to the 2A state tournament, which begins Friday at Durango. Needles (18-6) clinched the No. 1 seed.

Agassi Prep led 40-39 at halftime, but Needles stole momentum with a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, capped by Ryan Andrews' 3-pointer.

Aaron Burns had 15 points and seven rebounds for Needles, and teammate Lewis Larrabee had 15 points and five steals. John Ochoa had 11 points and Michael Hills 10 for the Mustangs.

"We made some good shots, and we got the ball into Aaron Burns," Needles coach Jeff Plank said. "The key to our game is to have an inside-outside game."

Quincy Brown paced Agassi Prep with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Kalinn Jackson added 14 points for the Stars.

Curtis Watson tallied nine points and 11 rebounds for Agassi Prep, and teammate Anson Williams had eight points and nine rebounds.

GIRLS

Fifty-eight percent usually isn't an ideal percentage rate to convert free throws. For Needles' girls basketball team, it turned out to be perfect.

The Mustangs made 7 of 12 free throws in the final 50.8 seconds to rally for a 46-41 win over Lincoln County for the Class 2A Southern League title at Durango.

Both teams advanced to the state tournament, which begins Friday at Durango.

"Free throws, man, they'll make you or break you," Needles coach Manuel Calderon said. "Free throws will put you right back in the game like they did for them, and I felt they won it for us."

Lincoln County (16-10) led 41-39 after a free throw by Melanie Florence with 52.8 seconds to play. But Florence missed her second attempt, and Needles' Dechaunee Russell was fouled on the rebound. Russell made 1 of 2 free throws with 50.8 seconds left to pull the Mustangs (25-3) within one.

After a turnover, April McGee knocked down both foul shots to put the Mustangs up 42-41 with 30.3 seconds to play.

The Lynx turned the ball over again with about 20 seconds left and were whistled for a foul. Lincoln County's bench was assessed a technical, and the Mustangs made 4 of 8 free throws in the final 18.1 seconds.

Needles led 19-11 at the half and went up by as much as 11 in the third quarter before Lincoln County rallied.

Florence, a 5-foot-10-inch senior, scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and finished with eight rebounds.

The Lynx blanketed Needles star Gena Chavira, regularly employing a triangle-and-two on her. Chavira attempted just two shots in the third quarter and had Needles' lone field goal in the fourth quarter.

But the fouls piled up for Lincoln County, and Needles hit 15 of 25 free throws in the fourth.

Chavira had 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals and four assists. Russell had 10 rebounds.