LINK: FREE SHOOTOUT PHOTOS
Rincon/University held off a furious comeback from Pueblo to win the championship of the Fat Lever/Santa Cruz Shootout 63-58 Friday afternoon at Pueblo High School.
Rincon/UHS wins Fat Lever/Santa Cruz Shootout over Pueblo #azpreps365 https://t.co/OhAPmwrRUe
— AZPreps365 (@AZPreps365) December 31, 2022
NOTE: At one time, the Santa Cruz Shootout featured 28 boys and girls teams from Arizona, California, Washington and Canada. The gym Cholla High School was called into duty due to the overflow number of teams. The tournament ran from about 1993 to 2008. This year, former Pueblo, ASU and NBA standout Fat Lever was on hand to help bring the tournament back and he provided memorabilia to award to the tournament MVPs.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Caden Marchesseault, St. Augustine
Joaquin Anaya, Kofa
Baltazar Pacheco, Nogales
Zaire Hays, Rincon/UHS
Hazael Garibay, Sunnyside
Yak Ngang, Pueblo
Dieumerci Byiringiro, Rincon/UHS (MVP)
Isaiah Hill, Pueblo (MVP)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28
Pueblo 62, St. Augustine 30
Sunnyside 76, Nogales 54
Rincon/UHS 87, St. Augustine 25
Nogales 58, Kofa 47
Rincon/UHS 60, Pueblo 58 (OT)
Sunnyside 69, Kofa 33
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29
Rincon/UHS 63, Sunnyside 61
Nogales 71, St. Augustine 45
Pueblo 69, Kofa 26
SEMIFINALS
Rincon/UHS over Nogales
Pueblo 57, Sunnyside 46
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30
Nogales 101, St. Augustine 34
NOGALES: Diego Ortega 19, Baltazar Pacheco 17, Francisco Greer 13, Andres Franco 10, Rafael Vasavilbaso 10. ST. AUGUSTINE: Edwin Crandall 10, Andres Betancourt 8.
THIRD PLACE GAME
Sunnyside 51, Kofa 46 (OT)
SUNNYSIDE: Michael Quiroga 16, Giovanni Tchitou 10. KOFA: Joaquin Anaya 12, Francisco Jimenez 11, Elijah Braveheart 10.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Rincon/UHS 63, Pueblo 58
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Named one of “Arizona’s Heart & Sol” by KOLD and Casino del Sol, Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and a 2019 AZ Education News recognition. He was a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling and his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is a Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. He earned a Distinguished Service Award from Amphitheater and he was recognized by City Councilman Richard Fimbres. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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