Defanging a snake can get you bitten, but it won’t get you into a state basketball season if you do it too late in the season. That’s what happened to the Lobos Wednesday at Patagonia Union High School. They weren’t bitten, and the Lobos did crush the San Miguel Vipers 53-31 to earn a 3-10 season record. It was a case of too little and too late for the Lobos to make state 1A basketball tourney.

The Lobos’ Caleb Foster and San Miguel’s Gary Allen collide going for a rebound Wednesday at Patagonia Union High School. Photo / Roger Conroy

Top shooter

Ryan Schrimpf was top shooter for the Lobos, and has been thus far this season. Schrimpf sunk three three-pointers with two minutes left in the first quarter to give the Lobos a 14-4 lead. Up to that point, the game was almost stalemated. San Miguel called a time out at that point to re-think their defense.

Schrimpf sank six from the three-point line against Valley Union the previous Friday and another against San Miguel Wednesday. Schrimpf also went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line, scoring 27 points against San Miguel.

Not only is Schrimpf a top shooter, he’s a top scholar as well. He has an offer on the table from Arizona State University that could amount to $30,000, a $7,500 renewable academic scholarship. Schrimpf carries a 4.2 grade-point average.

While he’s looking for other dollars, including some basketball money, the ASU offer is appealing. “ASU’s looking pretty optimistic at this point,” Schrimpf said. “I’m looking at a couple of different schools but academics are pretty important to me. I’m keeping my options open and we’ll see after the season how things play out.”

Schrimpf said going to ASU doesn’t preclude basketball. “I think it would be fun to be a walk-on or maybe play some intercollegiate (ball),” he said. “I’m real optimistic. I’m looking forward to college next year. Whether it’s basketball or academics, I’m looking forward to either one.”

The Lobos also looked forward after that first quarter, outscoring the Vipers by four points in each of the remaining quarters, 14-10, 10-6 and 15-11. “We were out here just trying to get our game plan executed,” head coach Ross Spencer said. “We wanted to run with them to see how well we practiced this week.”

Schrimpf gave the Lobos a 10-point lead, and they ran with it. “Ryan is our catalyst for the team,” Spencer said.

It also makes Schrimpf a target, Spencer said. “When things aren’t going so well on offense, I think a lot of teams key in on Ryan but, when he is open, he has the green light from me.”

Schrimpf seemed to fire up other Lobos Wednesday. The Moreno brothers, Alex and Beto (Alberto) scored nine and 11 points, respectively. “We’ve been waiting for Alex to come alive and tonight he seemed to have a little pep in his step,” Spencer said. “He was ready to go tonight.”

For San Miguel, Arcenio Trujillo was top shooter with 11 points, including 3-of-10 free throws. It was not a good night for the Vipers, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Lobos towered over most San Miguel players by six or more inches. “I think my boys played hard. I think some of the calls were … OK,” head coach Rashida Jeffery said. “My boys played hard, and that’s all that counts. They have a really good attitude.”

Patagonia has four players over six feet, the tallest being Noah Rutledge at 6-foot-8. “The Lobos came out and played hard, so it was a great game,” Jeffery said.

Season record

The Lobos now own a 3-10 season record. They have three games left, one against St. Augustine, who they lost to 53-50, and two against Immaculate Heart, one away Feb. 2 and one home Feb. 5. Their record puts them 10th of 13 teams in a reorganized 1A South (east) division, too low in the standings to make the state tourney.