Gauchos fall in frantic finale Finale

Casa beaten on Newman's late 12-0 run|

Do you believe in conspiracies?

It seemed like the universe conspired against the Casa Grande High School boys basketball team Monday night in a wild 60-54 loss to Cardinal Newman.

Wildness No. 1: The host Cardinals made three baskets, two from 3-point range in the final 40 seconds to erase a 54-48 Casa Grande lead.

Wildness No. 2: The Gauchos got up only one shot in those final hectic seconds after dominating play for the entire second half.

Wildness No. 3: Casa Grande tried desperately for a time out before turning the ball over in the final hectic sequence that led to Connor Rubattino’s game-winning 3-point hit with just three seconds left, but were ignored by the officials.

Wildness No. 4: The Gauchos were whistled for a foul on Rubattino’s bucket and then had their bench hit with a technical foul, ensuring that they had no way for a final-second miracle.

It all added up to 12 straight points for the Cardinals, and instead of a six-point loss, a six-point victory.

The Cardinal Newman win ended the first round of North Bay League play with Newman and Casa Grande tied atop the league standings with 6-1 records and Windsor and Montgomery both right behind at 5-2.

The mind-boggling finish vandalized one of the Gauchos’ best defensive efforts of the season.

With Will Crain, Jon Christy, JJ Anderson and Robbie Sheldon dominating the backboards and several players contributing to the scoring, Casa hung tough through a foul-plagued first half and seemingly took charge in the third period. Crain and Christy were both hampered by fouls, with Crain eventually fouling out in the fourth period after scoring 14 points. Christy also spent a stretch of time on the bench in the first half with a bloody elbow that had to be bandaged before he was allowed to return. Although he scored just five points, he did pull down 11 rebounds.

Point guard Tommy Buickerwood handled the ball well in the face of strong Cardinal Newman pressure and added nine points to the Casa cause. Sheldon, who got the Gauchos off to a fast start, scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds, while Jake Hayworth came off the bench to score five points.

But no Gaucho was more important than Scotty Cole, who scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds, made two steals and dished off nine assists. Even more important than the numbers was the defensive job he did on Newman superstar Rubattino. The Cardinal ace got his points, 29 of them, but he had to take a lot of shots to reach his total, and he was dogged on each shot, dribble and pass by Cole, who constantly had a hand in his face.

Despite a solid defensive effort by the Gauchos, Cardinal Newman was able to battle in front, 27-22, at the half.

Casa opened the second half strongly, and tied the game at 30-30 midway through the third period on a drive by Buickerwood. Baskets by Colin McDonald, Anderson and Cole ended the third period with a 6-0 Gaucho run that had Casa ahead, 37-33.

The lead grew to eight (45-37) at one point during the fourth period, before Rubattino (twice) and Damian Wallace bombed for treys to cut the Casa lead to six, and set in motion the wildness that was the final 40 seconds.

In the matter of a few heartbreaks, Jamon Roberts scored; Damian Wallace swished a 3-pointer; Casa failed to get a time out call; the Gauchos turned the ball over; a shot missed; the Cardinals snared the rebound and the ball ended in Rubbatino’s hands; he didn’t miss; pandemonium engulfed the Cardinal gym ;whistles blew; Rubattino camped out at the foul line; and Casa players were left wondering about the justice of the universe.

Cardinal Newman won the junior varsity game that was closer than the final 47-37 score indicates.

Last week, the Gauchos varsity rallied in the final quarter to defeat Montgomery, 55-44, in a key North Bay League game Jan. 22.

Led by Christy, Casa’s Gauchos closed out the game on a 16-2 run to remain unbeaten in league play.

Christy hit two shots from 3-point range in the Casa surge and finished with 27 points for the game.

Montgomery center Erik Poulsen led the Vikings with 25 points.

Sheldon scored 14 for the Gauchos.

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