Wingate boys lean on veteran forward in 53-49 win over Valley

WINGATE

With the game on the line, the Wingate Bears leaned on Zefferino Flores to carry the team.

The junior forward answered the call as the Bears turned back the Valley Pirates, 53-49, in an interstate game on Friday night.

Flores scored six points during a key stretch as Wingate regained the momentum as the visiting Pirates briefly took a 44-43 lead with 4:47 left on a putback by senior Jake Apachee. The Bears, however, capped the entertaining contest with a 10-5 finish.

“Coach talked about us taking care of the ball and passing it around,” Flores said. “He said when you have a chance, take the shot and that is what I did.”

Wingate coach Larry Smiley says Flores is one of the backbones on the team, which also includes senior point guard Matthew Whitehair. The pair combined for 37 points with Flores scoring 20.

“Zeff is our mainstay on offense and defense,” Smiley said. “Of course, he does pull down a lot of rebounds. We just gather around knowing that he’s part of our game plan.

“He’s probably my MVP, and Matthew is a close second,” he added.

Whitehair complemented Flores by scoring 17 points, but he was limited to fouls. The Wingate guard picked up his fourth infraction just as the first half ended with the Bears clinging to a 36-31 halftime cushion.

“I wasn’t expecting to get four fouls in the first two quarters,” said Whitehair, who scored all his points in the opening half.

The Wingate guard sat for most of the second half as others had to fill his void.

“Wacey (Tom) and Ethan (Mitchell) mainly stepped up for us, and I was really proud of them,” Whitehair said.

“They knew they had to step it up,” Smiley added. “Everybody has roles and they know their parts offensively and defensively. Everybody had to give it 110% more than they normally do.”

The putback by Apachee was Valley’s only lead of the second half as the Pirates trailed by as much as nine points in the opening half. The visiting team, however, could not sustain the momentum as Wingate pulled away.

“That has been our Achilles all season,” Valley coach Teddy Goodluck said. “We just can’t seem to finish out games. That’s been the case for a couple of games where we’re either tied, have a little lead or just down a few points in the last four minutes and the pressure gets to the boys.”

Goodluck says they have a few flaws to shore up, and they are looking to correct them in what he calls a “rebuilding year.”

“I only have three seniors out there and the rest are sophomores,” he said. “A majority of the guys on the bench are freshmen.”

The three seniors are Casey Tso, Kaden Begay, and Apachee.

Apachee was one of three players to hit double figures for the Pirates as he shared top scoring honors with junior guard Tyrin Nicotine. The two players finished with 14 points apiece while junior forward Jayquan Allen added 10.

“Jake is our team leader and he’s been good throughout the years,” Goodluck said.

With no outside threat, Valley earned most of their points near the basket.

“We’re more of a drive, slashing team,” Goodluck said. “When we have to, we’ll pull up a 3, but I don’t have any pure 3-point shooters, so we tend to drive the lane and attack the basket.”

Valley opens 2A North Region play at Northland Prep in Flagstaff on Friday night. Goodluck is expecting his team to challenge for a top finish in the region race.

“It seems pretty fairly even the way I look at the region,” he said. “There’s a couple of teams that may standout, but I think we have a good shot of turning some heads and doing some damage. Again, we have to make sure that we’re sealing the deal.”

Wingate, meanwhile, has a couple of nondistrict games before the Bears start the district season with Thoreau on Tuesday, Jan. 13. The Smiley-coached team will host Hózhó Academy on Thursday before traveling to Many Farms on Friday night for the Bears’ sixth Arizona opponent.

“I feel like we’re coming together,” Smiley said. “I think we kind of found out where we stand playing all those Arizona teams. We’re starting to come together and they’re understanding the process.”

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