Improving in the rankings in a losing effort is not an easy thing to do. But as Camp Verde’s boys basketball team showed in its regular season finale at home against Winslow on Thursday, March 4, it is possible.
The Cowboys entered the game at No. 14 in the 3A rankings. With 16 teams going into the playoffs, a bad outing against the No. 2 Bulldogs could have left Camp Verde vulnerable. The Cowboys didn’t win, losing 68-65 in a game that came down to the final seconds, but the effort was anything but bad. Because of that, Camp Verde not only secured a playoff spot but moved up two spots to No. 12.
Winslow led by two points at halftime but dominated the third quarter 21-8, appearing to put the game away in the process. But Camp Verde clawed back into the game in the final minutes and even had a pair of potential game tying three-point attempts in the last 15 seconds of the game — one from junior guard Chino Salas-Zorrilla, another from junior forward Devon James at the buzzer.
“Our kids had a great effort,” Cowboys coach Dan Wall said. “What I just told them was that they obviously had a nice first half — we were right in the mix in the first half. We came out in the third quarter and they punched us in the mouth a little bit, hit some big shots.”
The third quarter ended up being the difference-maker. Wall said after the game that he knew that the Bulldogs would have their runs on offense throughout the game, which happened. The Camp Verde deficit grew because of that and also because of what Wall guessed were seven or eight empty possessions where the Cowboys took quick, contested shots.
But despite being down by nearly 20 points, Camp Verde chipped away at that deficit, which the coach was extremely happy to see.
“We ended up going down 17 and what I loved was their fight,” Wall said. “It would have been super easy to say, ‘Look, we had a great first half against the No. 2 team in the state’ and just pack it in for the night. But they fought and they scrapped. Made some huge plays down the stretch.”
Those plays came in the form of a three-pointer and a tip-in from senior guard Mason Rayburn, a big three-pointer from James, clutch rebounds and free throws from sophomore forward Chito Herrera and a number of big baskets from Salas-Zorrilla.
And Salas-Zorrilla wasn’t just good down the stretch — his effort for the full 32 minutes was simply outstanding. If he had met or even slightly exceeded his season average of 22.1 points per game, the Cowboys would have lost by double-digits. Instead, he scored 38 points, which exceeded the combined output of any two players from either team.
The Bulldogs were led by senior forward Dustin Richard, who scored 21. James finished the game with 15 for the Cowboys. Playing in his final home game, Rayburn had eight.
One of the perks of this game was the crowd. While much of the season has been played only in front of parents, the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s decision to allow limited spectators allowed a few more than normal to be in this game. While the gym was far from packed, it was noisy, especially as the game tightened up in the final minutes.
“That was fun,” Wall said. “It was fun to have a few extra people here tonight. And Winslow brought a great crowd, too. It’s too bad with the COVID stuff. Everybody’s asking about coming to the games. We thrive on that. It’s a great atmosphere for us as a home crowd. To get a taste of that was a really special experience for the kids.”
With the loss to the Bulldogs, the Cowboys finished the regular season at 11-7 overall, 9-5 in the 3A Conference and 4-4 in the 3A North Central Region.
As the No. 12 seed, they earned a game against No. 5 Page in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. Just like Winslow, the Cowboys lost by three, falling 57-54 to the Sand Devils.
While the game with Page didn’t go how Camp Verde would have liked, Wall felt that the game with the Bullodgs and other tough games through the year had his team well prepared for the playoffs.
“It’s not just this team,” Wall said after the Winslow game. “Our region has been so difficult this year with Page, Fountain Hills and Northwest Christian. Night in and night out, the kids have just been in dogfights. It’s really helped us grow as a group, get into those tough situations and find their way through them. This is a really gritty group.”
