Texico boys win District 5-3A crown

TEXICO — Two down, one to go.

Texico's boys basketball team bagged the District 5-3A tournament championship on Saturday, seven weeks after locking up its third straight EPAC tournament title, and two weeks before what the Wolverines hope will be a state-championship coronation.

Texico earned major title No. 2 this winter after losing a double-digit lead, then rallying to beat Santa Rosa 48-43 Saturday at Texico High School by scoring the game's last six points after falling behind 43-42 with less than two minutes to play in the fourth.

In winning the district championship, Texico also improved to 26-0. Saturday's victory was a little hairier than any of the previous 25, but the Wolverines managed to get it done just the same.

"It's always good to get through those milestones that we're after throughout the course of the year," Texico head coach Ty Thatcher said. "We went in knowing that we had a pretty good shot at being a top contender, and it's nice to see the kids have success and win a championship. They've won quite a bit this year, and we don't want 'em to overlook anybody. ... Being humble is something that is important to us, but also having the ability to compete at a high level."

"It feels great to be a part of this team," said Wolverines junior forward Cole Rohrbach, who scored the basket that put his team ahead for good late in the fourth quarter.

"Always feels good. Just another win, a notch on the belt," Texico senior post Nathan Phipps said. "Now it's on to the next goal."

"It's always fun to beat Santa Rosa, first off, because we're pretty good rivals," Wolverines junior point guard Dalton Thatcher said. "So, it's a good thing, but again, we're striving to get the blue (state-championship trophy) at the end; that's all that matters."

Saturday's game did matter, too, especially after Texico's big late-fourth-quarter push to win it. Earlier in the second half, it had seemed the Wolverines were rolling toward victory. After a second quarter that saw nine lead changes, the last one an inside Phipps bucket that gave Texico a 24-23 advantage, the Wolverines went on to build a 36-26 lead in the third quarter.

Santa Rosa, though, pared its deficit down to 40-37 by third quarter's end, and 42-40 early in the fourth. With less than two minutes remaining, Lions junior guard Stephen Sanchez buried a right-elbow trey, handing his team a 43-42 edge, its first lead since late in the second quarter.

"I think, at times, we didn't do a very good job of recognizing that they had a hot shooter and a guy that was making plays for them," Ty Thatcher said. "That double-digit lead disappeared pretty quick, which is not crazy; we understand that happens in this game with the three-point shot. Momentum definitely swung their way. I was proud of the way we came out and finished the game."

Texico started its big closing run quickly, answering Sanchez' trey right back with an underneath bank shot from Rohrbach off a slick feed from junior guard/forward Skyler Davis. With defensive pressure on Phipps inside, other players have to step up. And in this case, the Wolverines paged Dr. Rohrbach with just over a minute left in the fourth.

"We do a good job of finding the open guy," Rohrbach said, "and it was one of those times. (Davis) found me right there with everyone covering Nathan, and I had the wide-open shot."

"Cole and Paden (McDermid) have been in the right place at the right time throughout the course of the season, with Nathan drawing so much attention on one side of the floor as a big," Ty Thatcher said. "These kids have played together a lot through the years, and they seem to find each other. And that was a huge play for us. I believe there have been two or three games where Cole's been that guy at the end that makes a big difference."

Still, it was only 44-43 Texico with plenty of time for Santa Rosa to do something. But on the other end, a Sanchez floater missed, and when the loose ball bounced toward the left sideline, Rohrbach hustled there to collect it.

Following a timeout, the Wolves inbounded with 26.9 seconds left, and Thatcher was fouled with 23.3 ticks to go. He sank both free throws, making it 46-43.

Santa Rosa took a full timeout with 16.7 seconds left, and on the ensuing play, Joaquin Romo's potential game-tying turnaround heave from just inside the right sideline missed everything. Phipps inbounded to Thatcher, who was fouled again. With 12 seconds remaining, he hit two more foul shots, giving his team a 48-43 advantage.

Santa Rosa lost the ball out of bounds with 4.7 seconds to play, and it was essentially over. Phipps inbounded to Ben Crist, who dribbled out the clock.

Win secured, another goal reached. Time to look ahead to the state-championship quest, which could include some familiar faces along the way.

"Fortunately and unfortunately, it looks like there's a good chance that Santa Rosa will be the team that we draw later on in the (state) tournament, because they are a top-four team, in my opinion," Ty Thatcher said. "And definitely one that we'll have to see one more time to get the job done."