Spartans riding hot streak

Not long ago, Cimarron-Memorial's boys basketball team looked like road kill. The Spartans lay on the side of the road, beaten and battered, watching other teams speed past toward playoff berths.

But Cimarron somehow managed to drag itself off the pavement, and not even the loss of the area's top scorer in the final week of the regular season prevented the resilient Spartans from making it to the postseason.

Cimarron closed the season with five straight wins, including a 51-47 victory over Centennial in a play-in game on Saturday, to advance to today's Sunset Region quarterfinals.

The Spartans (21-9) play at second-ranked Bishop Gorman (24-4) at 6:30 p.m. today.

"We've had a lot of heart-to-heart talks with them," Cimarron coach Steve Boyack said. "We told them we've come up short in a couple of different instances throughout this year, and we don't want to come up short again.

"We had a little theme: take it personally. And they've been excited the last few days."

On Jan. 29, the Spartans were 4-6 in the Northwest Division, three games behind Cheyenne, Centennial and Palo Verde. The Spartans rallied to beat Legacy, Shadow Ridge and Arbor View, and then beat Centennial on back-to-back days to grab the final playoff spot.

The last three wins came without high-scoring swingman Mike Cutright, who was averaging an area-best 25 points. Boyack declined to discuss the reasons behind Cutright's absence, but confirmed the junior will not be back this season.

"The kids, they knew they had to regroup and all of them had to step up," Boyack said. "All of them had to rebound, all of them had to score and they have. They've answered the call. They knew Mike could do it when needed, but now it's their call."

Different players have stepped up since Cutright's absence began. Junior guard Brayden Quackenbush scored 26 in the win over Arbor View, and junior Dale Puckett had a team-high 19 in the first win over Centennial. Senior Arthur Baker led the Spartans with 14 points Saturday, and senior Tyler Tuliau added 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Now the Spartans might be without Quackenbush, who suffered a gash on his cheek in Saturday's game.

"It's pretty bad," Boyack said. "I told his mom to try to seal it as tight as they can and tell him he's an athlete and we'd like to see him play if he's able. We're not going to force him onto the court, but if he can play, we definitely need him."

The Spartans and the rest of the Sunset teams will need everything they have to match up with Gorman and Northwest Division champ Mojave (25-1), which has won 21 consecutive games.

The Rattlers host Bonanza (8-13) tonight, with Durango (11-12) playing at Palo Verde (15-9) and Cheyenne (15-7) playing at Spring Valley (17-8).

The Sunrise Region tournament, which begins Tuesday, looks wide open. Southeast Division teams Liberty, Foothill and Silverado traded blows all season, as did Canyon Springs, Eldorado and Desert Pines in the Northeast.

Though Desert Pines ended up third in the Northeast, the Jaguars are playing as well as anyone, having won nine of their last 10 games. The only loss came to Findlay Prep, which features a hand-picked roster of Division I recruits.

"I would say, at least on our side of town, that they're playing some of the best basketball of anybody," said Canyon Springs coach Daryl Branham, whose team also has won nine of 10. "They're quick, they play very hard and they press a lot. They've got a lot of things going for them right now."

In Tuesday's Sunrise quarterfinals, Desert Pines (16-7) plays at Foothill (20-8), Silverado (18-8) plays at Eldorado (21-8), Green Valley (12-12) is at Canyon Springs (21-6) and Valley (18-12) is at Liberty (20-8).

The semifinals in both tournaments are Thursday, with both championship games Friday. The winner of each tournament advances to state, Feb. 21-22, in Reno.

Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4587.