Preps

Stewart helps Santa Rita force 4A Sonoran tie

Devin Stewart emerged from the Santa Rita locker room late Wednesday night, shirtless and smiling and barely fatigued. He hugged family members who came to watch him play the final regular-season home game of his illustrious career, and he even took time to sign an autograph or two. It was a fitting end to a night that had Stewart's name written all over it. The senior standout, as he has done time and again, piloted Santa Rita to a momentous win, a 67-54 triumph over Nogales that created a tie between the teams for the 4A Sonoran Region championship. A coin flip in the coming days will determine which of the two gets the top seed at next week's region tournament. The consequences of the flip are minimal, as the Eagles (21-7, 12-2) and Apaches (23-5, 12-2) already know the format calls for them to meet for the tourney title and the No. 1 seed to the Class 4A state tournament some time next week. Stewart overwhelmingly likes his team's chances. "Our mind-set coming in was that we knew we could beat any team in our region when we play our game. We proved it right here," said Stewart, who blistered Nogales with 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists. "We were able to do what we wanted to tonight." Much needs to be said of the limitations put on Nogales on Wednesday, when two of its starters and top bench player did not make the trip to Tucson for unspecified reasons. "It's tough to beat a team like Santa Rita when you don't have the team that brought you here," coach Bambi De La Riva said. Nonetheless, a fully equipped Apaches team might not have found a way to curb Santa Rita's supremacy. The Eagles played their style to perfection with Stewart at the wheel. He remained the one player - perhaps more than any other in Southern Arizona - who opponents cannot afford to take their eyes off for a split second. He created one scoring opportunity after another, continually forced the action and then did what has helped the Eagles win seven straight games. "This is by far the best team I've been on in my four years here," said guard Kyle Carney, Stewart's cohort on varsity since 2001. "We're so much smarter than before. I've had such a good time here."