Sahuaro improved to 9-2 on the year thanks to a 56-50 win at Tucson High Thursday night. The victory moved the Cougars one win closer to the quick start (10-2) they experienced last year but the team is hoping to avoid the late-season collapse that saw them missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

A 3-9 finish in power-ranking games dropped the Cougars out of playoff contention and it all started with a 57-55 setback at Tucson in early January. The Badgers capitalized on the win and went on to qualify for the Division II state playoffs after taking out Salpointe and Catalina Foothills in their section tournament.

Tucson (6-6) was moved to the 6A Conference this year and will battle Sunnyside (9-5), Rincon/University (4-10) and the top team from the Yuma Sub-Region for the automatic qualifier in the Southern Region. The loss to Sahuaro is the fourth in a row for the Badgers but, as mentioned, region play will bring new life to the program.

Sahuaro is competing in the 5A Conference in the difficult Southern Region with Buena (12-0) and Cienega (9-3). The Colts are currently ranked No. 2 in the 5A Conference and Cienega is No. 6 while Sahuaro is 12^th.

Tucson jumped out to a 9-3 lead over Sahuaro but the Cougars went on a 9-0 run to take a 12-9 lead heading to the second quarter. The two teams battled back and forth from there with Sahuaro taking an 18-17 lead at the half.

The Badgers came out of the locker room and sprinted out to a 22-18 lead in the first 50 seconds of the third but the Badgers were limited to only four points the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Sahuaro took a 31-26 lead thanks to eight points (including a break-away dunk) from 6-foot-3 senior Brendan Gary.

“We are off to a good start,” Gary said. “I think our defense has been the reason which is strange because our offense usually carries us. We just need to limit our turnovers.”

Sahuaro went on to take a 45-30 lead with exactly four minutes left in the game but the Badgers hit on five 3-pointers down the stretch to cut the lead down to 52-50 with 34.3 seconds left. As Gary mentioned, the scoring run was also sparked by several turnovers and a few fouls away from the action.

The Cougars committed another turnover with 32 seconds left but the Badgers missed on a 3 that would have given them the lead. Dashawn Engram went on to sink four free throws down the stretch to hold the Badgers off. In all, the Badgers missed three shots in the final 25 seconds.

Gary finished with 13 points and his brother Devan Gary had 12 while Engram led the Cougars with 17. Junior guard Derek Williams led Tucson with 12 points and senior standout Jordan Williams had nine.

The Badgers will play Buena in the "Hoopin’ it up at the Arena" game held at the Talking Stick Resort on Monday, Dec. 26 before taking part in the Judy Dixon Holiday Tournament hosted by Greenway over the winter break while Sahuaro is scheduled to take part in the Capital Connect Holiday Basketball Tournament hosted by Sabino.