Separated by over 1,000 students and three miles, Cienega and Empire played each other to the final moments of a classic battle between an established "big school" and a school creating an identity.  Cienega ultimately prevailed 66-63 but Empire also had a victory of sorts - respect.

The Vail School District counts the enrollment figures of several smaller high schools in the district against the enrollment of Empire, causing an unnatural bump in numbers that has led to Empire being placed in Division II along with Cienega for basketball.

After a couple of years of success at a lower level, the immediate outcome in Empire's rise to D-II resulted in an 11-17 season last year. But with a crew of 10 seniors including David Beleau and Deion James, head coach Dana Plouck avenged many of those losses last year to finish with a 17-10 record this year.

"This year is special because I've been with these guys since they were in the seventh grade," said Plouck. "I was their middle school, freshman and JV coach and now their varsity coach. I'm proud of how they battled this year and tonight. Had we had Deion in the game in the second quarter things might have ended differently."

James and junior Grant Plouck paced Empire to a 20-13 lead in the first period with each hitting on a couple of 3-pointers. Plouck sank another 3-pointer to start the second quarter and Empire was up by ten but then a foul and technical against James forced him to the bench with three fouls.

Cienega also has a couple of standouts in seniors Terrence Johnson and Daren Biggs. Every time Johnson steps on a court he draws specialized defensive attention which opens up the court to other players and Biggs is the perfect player for that kind of situation because he will make you pay and then make you some more.

Biggs poured in ten points in the second quarter including a shot at the buzzer to give Cienega a 32-30 to cap a 19-7 run in six minutes of play. Then there's senior Leonard Moody.

Moody had eight points in the first half to keep the Bobcats in the game and then scored ten more in the third to help offset the dazzling display from James. James returned to the court after the break and scored 15 points including two free throws with six seconds left to give Empire a brief 52-49 lead. Moody erased that with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The way the D-II/Section II standings are, Empire was too far back to qualify for the sectional tournament coming into the game while Cienega had a guaranteed spot. More importantly, the Bobcats came in ranked 11th and the Ravens were 29th. With only the top 24 making the state playoffs, Empire needed to win to have a shot and James did all he could to try to make that happen.

He hit a 3-pointer to give Empire a 55-52 lead with 7:23 left but Biggs put down a thunder dunk and a 3-pointer of his own to retake the lead at 57-55 with 6:02 left.

James hit another 3-pointer with 5:21 left to take a 58-57 lead but junior Isaiah Murphy sank a 3-pointer to put Cienega back up 60-58 with 5:10 left.

Gabe Vera scored to tie it up at 60-60 with 4:23 left and then Moody scored to give Cienega a 62-60 lead with 3:45 left. James responded with another 3-pointer and Empire was up 63-62 with 3:06 left.

With every shot, the student sections got louder and louder and the play intensified and it got even louder when Moody hit another 3-pointer to give Cienega 65-63 lead with 2:45 left. Then it got wild.

Cienega got the ball back but threw it away. Empire missed a coupe of shots but then Cienega gave it right back with 30 seconds left. James appeared to score underneath but he was called for traveling with 22 seconds left.

Biggs was fouled and he made the first free throw but missed the second. Empire was down 66-63 with 8 seconds left. Cienega had a foul to give and they fouled James just before he was able to make a game-winning 3-pointer.

The shot was waved off but Empire had one more chance. James had the ball at the top off the key and he found Plouck in the corner but the shot was too long and Cienega pulled out the win.

Plouck finished with 14 points including three bombs.  Biggs finished with 21, Moody had 20 and Johnson added seven but James poured in 31 points. His 1,650 career points set a school record. It was an incredible display of talent.

"We had a great effort tonight," explained Biggs. "We worked hard and came out as a team and hats off to Deion. He was incredible tonight so I knew I had to step up my energy and rally the team."

Arizona Western made the trip to catch the talent on the court and they saw plenty of it tonight. While Biggs was busy talking to Western, James gave his thoughts on the game.

"I tried to win this game badly," he said. "We blanked the crowd out and gave it a good shot. We've all played together for a long time and this was a special season and a special game."

Plouck broke the 1,000-point mark this year and Johnson has Cienega's career scoring record at 1,328 and counting. The sectional tournaments for the boys will start on Wednesday, Feb. 11 with the seedings of the top four teams in each section taking place after the regular season ends on Friday night.