Down 26-8 after one and 42-26 at the half, Rincon/University came out of the locker room knowing the final 16 minutes could be more of the same but a 26-17 run the third quarter gave the Rangers some hope with the lead cut down to 59-52. The backstory to all this drama was the push to get head coach Rich Utter his 500th career victory but it was not to be. The Rangers went on to take a 67-64 lead with 1:05 left but the Chargers scored the last five points for the 69-67 win.

The result was reminiscent of the previous attempt to get to 500 with the Rangers giving up a 1-point lead in the final moments to Canyon del Oro (8-4 in ranking games) at the Fat Lever Invitational for a 55-50 loss but each game stands alone at this point with the Rangers (3-7) having eight more chances to get that 500th victory, starting with a game against Cienega (7-3) on Monday at the prestigious MLK Basketball Classic held in McKale Center on the University of Arizona campus.

Rich Utter. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

For Cholla (8-2), holding the Rangers off might have proven to be difficult but a win is a win with the Chargers ranked No. 20 in the 5A Conference, which translates to a No. 11 ranking with the top nine teams currently pulled up to the Open Division. Losing to a lower-ranked team at this point (Rincon/UHS is No. 31 in the 6A Conference) would definitely harm the postseason seeding for the Chargers.

In the game at Rincon/UHS, Sam O'Dowd hit three straight free throws to cut the Charger lead down to 59-55 with 7:47 left but Michael Payne hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 62-55 with 7:26 left. Brennan Brown hit back-to-back buckets to cut the lead down to 62-59 with 6:30 left and Jaylin Nichols scored to cut the lead down to 62-61 with 6:09 left.

The Rangers had five chances to tie or take the lead but couldn’t get it done and Cyree Jenkins scored to put Cholla up 64-61 with 4:53 left. Zaire Hays made it 64-63 with 2:25 left and then Abel Munoz put the Rangers up 65-64 with 1:30 left. The Chargers missed a chance and then Hays scored at the basket for a 67-64 lead with 1:05 left.

Jerry Mendoza took over at that point and he hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 67-67 with 52.3 left. The Rangers missed a couple of free throws and Mendoza scored with 1.5 seconds left to put the Chargers back up 69-67. The Rangers had a good look at a game-winner but the shot came up short.

Cholla will travel to Ironwood Ridge (2-10) on Tuesday.

Cholla head coach Masai Dean with Michael Payne. Dean has the Chargers primed for a playoff run. (ANdy Morales/AZPreps365)