Coconino High School Basketball

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Coconino Panthers Boys' Basketball

All City - Justin Russell

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All City

All City
Coconino's Justin Russell. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun)
Last Updated on Friday, 12 March 2010 07:07
 

Justin Russell & Trevor Wytroval

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2010 Varsity Seniors/Nicknames
 

Coconino vs. Gilbert

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Local Roundup: Coconino tripped up late

Despite 39 combined points from seniors Justin Russell and Trevor Kriesel, the Coconino boys basketball team fell to fifth-seeded Gilbert Williams Field, 66-61, Tuesday night in the opening round of the Class 4A, Division II state tournament.

The 12th-seeded Panthers led the Black Hawks by nine points late in the third quarter, but had trouble holding off Williams Field.

The Black Hawks entered the fourth quarter trailing by six, but managed to tie the game up at 61 with about a minute to play.

On Williams Field's first possession after the tie, Coconino committed a foul and the Black Hawks converted on one free throw to take a one-point lead.

The Panthers weren't able to notch a basket on their next possession and Williams Field added two free throws and a bucket at the very end to pull out the five-point lead.

"It was a great game. We battled the whole way," CHS coach Kelley Smith said. "What hurt us is that we turned the ball over up top. The pressure of the game was heightened towards the end and we are young at the guard spot and it hurt us a little."

Russell scored a team-high 20 points in the loss and Kriesel had 19. Junior forward Brent James added 15.

"The big three came to play," Smith said. "They played very well and I was proud of them. We just couldn't overcome mistakes late."

Senior point guard Trevor Wytroval had seven assists in the loss for the Panthers, who finished the season with a 14-9 record.

"I'm very proud of the effort," Smith said. "There's nothing to hang our heads about. Hopefully, for the guys coming back, it's motivation for them to try to get better. We're going to miss the seniors, but we're going to work hard in the gym in the offseason and it's going to pay off next year."

 

Trevor Kriesel & Craig Moeller

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2010 Varsity Seniors/Nicknames
 

Coconino Eyes Upset

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Coconino eyes upset

RORY FAUST Sun Staff Reporter | Posted: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 5:00 am |

Josh Biggs Seniors Justin Russell, left, of Coconino and Jesse Tate, center, and Tyler Tsingine, right, of Flagstaff High hope to end their careers on a high note in the state playoffs. The Panthers and Eagles begin the first round tonight. (Josh Biggs/Arizona Daily Sun)

Coconino's boys basketball players have gone to great lengths to assure team unity this season.

They've utilized traditional bonding experiences, such as team meals, to grow closer. They've also employed unusual methods, such as matching haircuts, headbands and temporary tattoos.

Panthers coach Kelley Smith said the combination of both approaches has sparked the team's return to the Class 4A, Division II tournament after an unusual hiatus last year.

But it's the impromptu hilarity of team-bonding gags that helps the Panthers stay loose -- and keep their coach on his toes.

"Who knows?" Smith said when asked what kind of stunt the team could pull before tonight's first-round state playoff game. "They're always cooking up something. ... I could show up (today) and they all have blue hair.

"At least they're pretty reasonable with the stuff they pull," Smith added. "We're a really tight-knit group, a very family-oriented group. But the hair and stuff, that's all them. I can't take any credit for that."

Instead, the coach credits senior leaders Justin Russell and Trevor Kriesel for perpetrating the Panthers' unusual team-building exercises. Ironically, Russell and Kriesel's on-court exploits have also engineered the team's return to the state playoffs.

After a rocky start, Coconino (14-8) has won 11 of its last 13 games to capture the No. 12 seed in the 4A, D-II tourney, with both losses in that stretch coming against Grand Canyon Region champion Flagstaff High.

The Panthers face a tall order when they visit fifth-seeded Gilbert Williams Field (19-4) at 7 p.m. tonight, but the players are confident their talent and togetherness can keep the joyride going.

"We've really been coming together as a team recently and that's made us play better," said Kriesel, a wing who averages 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. "We've been through some tough spots as a team and that will help us at state, I think. We're all just having a lot of fun together and we want to keep it going."

"I think the biggest difference for us right now is that we're playing with a lot of confidence," added Russell, a forward who leads the team with 11.9 points and 7 rebounds per game. "All year, a goal of ours was to go to the state tournament, and when we got that goal, it gave us some confidence. And it's showing."

Stout defense and timely scoring have been the catalysts in the Panthers' strong finish. They'll need both tonight against a Black Hawks squad that, like Coconino, appears to hitting the tourney in stride.

Williams Field of the East Sky Region is averaging 75 points per game over its last 11 contests. They scored more than 90 points twice during the span.

Conversely, the Panthers are allowing just 44 points per game and have only allowed 60 or more points twice this season -- both coming before Christmas break.

"We're just happy to have a shot," Smith said. "I've tried to tell them all year long that the team that's peaking at the end, getting better every week, was the team that would be very dangerous in the playoffs. And I feel like we are getting better every week."

 
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