February 3, 2016 | By Liam Morales
CSHS up and down against the Sabercats
CACTUS SHADOWS – On Friday, January 29 the Cactus Shadows Falcons freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams took on the visiting Sabercats of Saguaro High. The freshman Sabercats committed multiple turnovers in the first quarter, which led to the Falcons 17-4 lead.
In the second quarter the Falcons really pulled away taking a 37-10 lead at the half. Turnovers and miscommunication seem to transpire throughout the whole game for the Sabercats as the Falcons pulled away with a huge victory, 58-16.
Following the freshman game, the JV teams played. The Sabercats took an early lead going into the half, 26-18. In the second half both teams came out fresh and ready to play.
The Falcons, with good play on both sides of the court, trimmed the lead down to 5 at the end of the third quarter. Going into the fourth quarter it was apparent this was going to be a close game. Both teams frequently attacked the basket, stopping the clock and slowing down the game.
The Falcons got the lead down to 4 but the Sabercats defense prevailed, taking the victory, 49-43. With the Falcons student section overflowing, the varsity players finally took the court. This game had “thriller” written all over it with competitive play from both teams. The Sabercats took the first quarter 16-11 lead by Jake Lieppert (C).
As the second quarter began the Falcons came out energized, cutting the lead to 2 behind the play of captain Nick Potthoff who finished with 22 game points; “You got to keep them on their toes, mix up jump shots, drive the lane and post up” said Potthoff.
Five start football recruit Byron Murphy attacked at the start of the third quarter by scoring 7 unanswered points. However, Dannon Docktor of the Falcons went on a 3-point shooting spree knocking down 2 in a row leading to a Saguaro timeout.
“We had a couple spurts in both halves where we just couldn’t guard their shooters” said Coach Bob LaRue of the Sabercats.
At the end of the third the Sabercats still lead, 44-39. The fourth quarter was a battle for both teams. Lights out shooting by Lieppert was giving the Falcons a lot of trouble; he said the Falcons were “playing good defense but our team moved the ball to find good shots.” Despite that good defense the Falcons fell short, 61-54.
Liam Morales is a Sports Journalism major at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. He hopes to become a broadcaster for the National Basketball Association and that one day you'll be watching him on TV working for ESPN.
