Lobos Fall To Blue Ridge, Payson, Down Show Low

By Greg Perkins
   Though they needed to win as many games as possible to move up in the power point standings, the Snowflake Lobos picked up just one win against two losses last week.
   On Tuesday night the Lobos traveled to Pinetop to take on league leading Blue Ridge and played well, holding a lead until late in the game.
   A two-point first quarter differential turned into a one-point halftime lead for the Yellowjackets. In the third quarter the Lobos poured in 23 points and took a three-point lead into the final period.
   “Down the stretch we had the lead, then panicked and they were able to get back ahead of us,” said Coach Andy Wood.
   Blue Ridge outscored the Lobos by nine over the final eight minutes to win the game 75-69.
   Robbie Martindale led the Lobo attack with 17 points, Tarrin Tanner and Blake Peterson added 12 each, Michael Bonham, 11, Trent Hall, 7, Jake Shumway, 4, and Ray Petersen and Trevor Reddick, 3 each.
Snowflake   14 18 23 14 69
Blue Ridge 16 17 19 23 75
   On Friday the Lobos made the trip to Payson to face the Longhorns, who have struggled for much of the season with two of their better players out of the lineup with injuries. Unfortunately for the Lobos, both players returned to the lineup and had a part in Snowflake's 67-57 loss.
   Payson led by two at the end of the first and by seven at the half. In the third that lead grew to double digits, then both teams played even in the fourth, leaving the Lobos 10 points short.
   “They got their big guys back, but what really hurt us was that we didn’t play well at all,” explained Coach Wood.
   Petersen led the team with five three-point shots for 15 points. Hall added 10.
Snowflake   13 15 9 20 57
Payson         15 20 13 19 67
   On Saturday the Lobos returned home, where they picked up a solid 62-43 win over visiting Show Low.
   The Lobos took control in the first period and won the scoring battle in that period and the remaining three.
   Martindale led the way with 14 points, Hall hit for 10, Tanner, 9, Bonham, 8, Shumway, Peterson and Reddick, 4 each, Billie and Petersen, 3 each, and Imazaki, John Ballard and Tanner Yellowhair, 1 each.
Show Low   12 10 9 12 43
Snowflake   18 18 12 14 62
   The Lobos head into the final week of the regular season with a 12-10 overall mark and they are 2-5 in East Region games. After hosting Ganado tonight (Feb. 3), they will conclude the regular season against Round Valley on Friday, Feb. 5, in Eagar. The East Regional Tournament will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 9, with first round games being played at the site of the higher seeds. The final four teams will meet in Payson next weekend. The region tournament will be seeded according to the power points system.