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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Wednesday, January 13, 1999
Pecos comes up short against Canutillo
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Jan. 13 -- `Bus lag' set in for the Canutillo Eagles
about midway through the final period of Tuesday night's
game at the Pecos High School gym. Unfortunately, `height
lag' set in for the Eagles about a quarter-and-a-half
earlier.
After their 220-mile trip to Pecos, Canutillo had trouble
getting the ball out of their own end of the court in the
closing minutes of Tuesday's game. But by that time, the
visiting Eagles' size advantage up front had given them a
20-point lead, more than enough to hold on for a 50-37
victory, keeping Pecos winless in District 2-4A play.
"The way we played in the fourth quarter, we've got to be
able to do that for all four quarters," said Eagles' coach
Brian Williams, as the Eagles came up with a series of
steals that allowed them to shut out Canutillo over the
final 2:27 of play.
But during the 16 minutes of play proceeding that,
Canutillo's front line controlled the game, and the visitors
outscored Pecos 30-12. Ale Pineda was the main culprit, as
the 5-foot-10 senior scored 28 points, including 12-for-16
from the foul line. But with 6-footer B.J. Blanco and
6-foot-2 Alex Vasquez helping control the rebounds at the
other post spot, the Eagles had little luck inside after
Philonicus Fobbs got into foul trouble.
Fobbs had a couple of quick baskets to help Pecos to a 6-1
lead, and gave the Eagles their next-to-last lead by
rebounding her own miss for a score in the second period.
But she picked up her third foul moments later, and wound up
fouling out of the game with 2:20 left in the third period,
by which time Canutillo had gone out to a 33-25 lead.
"Philonicus as a sophomore has to be willing to learn to
play the position and not get herself in foul trouble,"
Williams said. "There's a plane that runs up and down her
body (on defense), and she can't break it or she's going to
get into foul trouble."
Without Fobbs, the Eagles were limited to their 5-foot-7
senior posts, Lindsey Hathorn and Monique Levario, who also
was in foul trouble most of the night.
"Lindsey and Monique did a good job on the boards for girls
who don't have any height. But we've got to be able to shoot
the ball better up front," Williams said. Levario shot the
ball well from the foul line, going 8-for-11, but neither
she nor Hathorn could score a basket against Canutillo's
taller front line.
The Eagles' last lead came at 18-16, when Crystal Garcia
hit a side jumper, but in the final minutes of the second
period Pecos had its one bad stretch from the foul line,
missing four free throws in the last 2:17 of the half.
Canutillo had their own problems, missing their last five
foul shots of the half, but they were able to rebound their
own misses twice, and Pineda had a pair of lay-ups, after
earlier tying the game with two free throws.
Two foul shots by Levario cut the lead to 24-20 as the
second half opened, but a three-point play by Pineda,
followed by a basket and two more foul shots, helped widen
that gap to 31-21. Canutillo then scored seven points in the
final 45 seconds of the period, which ended with Pecos down
by a 43-25 margin.
Shaye Lara led the late-game charge or Pecos, with seven of
her 13 points in the fourth period. The loss left Pecos with
a 3-16 record, 0-2 in district play, while Canutillo
improved to 1-1 in district and 8-9 overall. The Eagles will
try again on Friday to get their first 2-4A win when they go
to Fabens for a 7 p.m. game against the Wildcats.
Pecos' varsity boys were off Tuesday, as they prepare for
their district opener at Fabens, but the Eagles' sub-varsity
teams split a pair of home games against Fort Stockton, with
the freshman losing, 55-30, while the JV scored a 52-45 win.
Martin Vasquez led the ninth graders with 12 points, while
Cesar Coria's 21 topped the JV.
CANUTILLO (50)
Cy. Bowden 1 0-1 2; Borjos 1 1-2 3; May 0 0-0 0; Cs. Bowden
1 1-1 3; Gonzales 1 0-4 2; Canazares 1 0-0 2; Marta 2 0-0 4;
Blanco 1 0-0 2; Pineda 8 12-16 28; Vasquez 2 0-0 4. Total 18
14-24 50.
PECOS (37)
Lara 5 2-5 13; Marquez 1 0-0 2; Garcia 3 0-0 6; Molinar 0
0-0 0; Quiroz 1 0-0 2; Salcido 0 0-0 0; Levario 0 8-11 8;
Hathorn 0 0-0 0; Fobbs 3 0-0 6. Totals 13 10-16 37.
Canutillo 10 14 19 7 --50
Pecos 9 9 7 12 --37
Three-point goals: Pecos 1 (Lara). Technical foul: Pecos,
Salcido. Fouled out: Pecos Fobbs, Levario. Total fouls:
Canutillo 17, Pecos 23.
Jordan formally announces retirement
CHICAGO (AP) -- The NBA's greatest player made it official
today.
Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls after 13
seasons, six championships and countless high-flying dunks.
``I played it to the best I could play it,'' Jordan told a
packed news conference at United Center. ``I tried to be the
best basketball player I could be.''
``I've had a great time,'' he said.
Jordan alluded to his first retirement in 1993, when he
briefly pursued a professional baseball career.
``Well, we do this again, a second time,'' he said.
Word of Jordan's retirement broke late Monday night, but he
had refused to comment until today. After leading the Bulls
to their sixth championship in June, Jordan had said he
would make an announcement on his future only once the NBA
lockout ended.
``I thought about saying just two words, `I'm gone,' but I
thought I owed my fans a lot more than that,'' he said, with
his wife, Juanita, at his side.
``My life will take a change,'' Jordan said.
He said he looked forward to being a parent and would ``live
vicariously through my kids,'' whether or not they played
basketball.
``Mentally, I'm exhausted, I don't feel I have a
challenge,'' Jordan said. ``Physically, I feel great.''
``This is a perfect time for me to walk away from the game.
I'm at peace with that.''
Joining the 35-year-old Jordan at the podium were Bulls
chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and NBA commissioner David Stern.
``This is a day I hoped would never come,'' Reinsdorf said.
``It's a tough day for basketball fans all over the world.''
Countered Stern: ``I disagree with Jerry. This is a great
day. The greatest player is retiring with the grace that
describes his play.''
Asked if he had lost his desire to play, Jordan responded:
``The desire is always going to be there.''
He said he wanted to make sure that the desire was there
``not one-fourth of the time I step onto the court, but
every time.''
Although he said, ``I never say never,'' he absolutely
closed the door on whether he would return to the game.
``I'm very secure in my decision,'' he said.
Eagle powerlifters place 1st, 5th
PECOS, Jan. 13 -- A Pecos powerlifter placed first in his
weight class this past Saturday at a high school
powerlifting competition in Fort Stockton, and Pecos' two
lifters managed to finish sixth out of 12 teams in the final
standings.
Eagles' coach Jason Hewitt said Tim Patton won the
275-point weight class, with a total of 1,300 pounds on
three lifts. Teammate Lonnie Crawford also competed in the
275-pound class and wound up fifth, lifting 1,040 pounds on
his three attempts.
This is the first year Pecos has competed in the area high
school powerlifting events, as the Eagles seek to improve on
their strength for the upcoming track and next year's high
school football seasons.
Local Explorers hosting hoops tourney
PECOS, Jan. 13 -- Reeves County Sheriff's Department
Explorer Post 600 will be hosting the third annual West
Texas Shootout Law Enforcement Basketball Tournament this
Friday and Saturday at the Pecos High School gymnasiums.
The tournament is scheduled to run from 5 to 9 p.m. on
Friday at both the old and new Pecos High School gyms, then
continue starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The tournament will
take a noon break in the new gym on Saturday for the Elk's
Club district Hoop Shoot competition, but is scheduled to
conclude with the tournament title game at 5 p.m.
Tickets for the tournament are $1 for students and $2 for
adults, with a $3 pass for both days of the tournament.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 1999 by Pecos Enterprise
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