Whiteford’s boys and girls basketball teams were successful against Morenci Tuesday – and both in tight ball games.
Whiteford’s boys beat the Bulldogs at home, 56-55, while the Bobcat girls won on the road, 61-59.
In the boys game, Hunter Lake made a free throw with 17 seconds remaining to give Whiteford the one-point win .
Lake was fouled and made one of two from the free throw line to put the Bobcats ahead. Morenci had a couple of shots in the final seconds, but a steal by Zack Bertz and rebound by Nate Bauman secured the win down the stretch as Whiteford won for the second time.
“It was a crazy game, especially down the stretch,” Whiteford coach Nic Abalos said.
Lake finished with 17 points. Isaac Badenhop and Bauman each finished with 12 points for Whiteford.
The Bobcat girls survived a 3-point shot attempt by Morenci at the buzzer to win by two. Baylee Baldwin led Whiteford with 28 points. Lindsey Walker scored 12 and Madison Durden 11.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Whiteford 56, Morenci 55
MORENCI (55)
Nolan 1 1-2 3, D. Glick 3(2) 0-0 8, Moore 4(2) 0-0 10, Cook 8(1) 6-7 23, Zimmerman 2(2) 0-0 6, Irish 2 1-3 5. Totals 20(7) 8-12 55.
WHITEORD (56)
Bauman 3 6-9 12, Lake 7(3) 2-6 19, Murphy 1 2-2 4, Masserant 1 0-0 2, Bertz 1 2-3 4, Badenhop 4(2) 2-4 12, Tesznar 1 1-2 3. Totals 18(5) 15-26 56.
Morenci 13 16 16 10 – 55
Whiteford 11 17 10 18 – 56
Total fouls – Morenci 22, Whiteford 11. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Whiteford 61, Morenci 59
WHITEFORD (61)
Taylor 0 0-2 0, Baldwin 8(4) 8-12 28, Durden 5(1) 0-0 11, Thomas 4 0-0 8, Walker 5 2-2 12, Kohler 1 0-0 2. Totals 23(5) 10-17 61.
MORENCI (59)
Gillen 4(4) 0-0 12, Kaiser 1 0-0 2, Merillat 3 9-10 15, Shoemaker 10(3) 0-1 23, Rorick 1(1) 1-1 4, Valentine 1 1-4 3. Totals 20(9) 11-16 59.
WHITEFORD 17 15 14 15 – 61
MORENCI 16 13 15 15 – 59
Total fouls – Whiteford 15, Morenci 15. Fouled out – Valentine. Technical fouls – None.
