The Douglas Bulldogs first trip to the state basketball playoffs in over 10-years was short lived as the 15th seeded Bulldogs went up against a familiar foe in No. 2 seed Santa Rita who had beaten Douglas twice earlier during the regular season.

In Tucson Feb. 16, the Bulldogs gave it a gallant effort in what was their closest game of the three played this season with Santa Rita but in the end the Eagles prevailed winning 69-54 ending the Dogs season with a 16-12 record.

The Bulldogs led 14-11 at the end of the first quarter but were outscored 18-6 in the second quarter as the Eagles led 29-20 at the half.

Gabriel Valencia's bucket in the third quarter pulled the Bulldogs to within six at 38-32 but the Eagles went on a 6-0 run turning that six point lead into a double digit 44-32 lead.

Hector Grijalva would drill a couple of three’s for the Bulldogs pulling back to within six.

Santa Rita would then force three straight turnovers increasing its lead back to 12.

The Eagles would outscore Douglas 40-32 the second half coming away with the 14 point win and advancing on to the second round of the state playoffs.

Spencer Grijalva led Douglas in scoring with 15 points. Valencia and Mariscal each followed with 14 and Hector Grijalva contributed six.

Looking back on the season Douglas’ basketball coach Abe Grijalva said this season exceeded his expectations.

“After the San Carlos tournament I told the kids that they were going to do something special this year,” he said. “I told the kids that we needed to be 7-7 in league games to have a chance to qualify and they did.

“All the credit goes to them because of their dedication and hard work. They also saved the best for last. Against Santa Rita they played probably the best game against a very good basketball team. The score does not indicate it, but we knew we had a chance to compete against a team that will probably play in the State Championship game.”

Amphi, Santa Rita and Palo Verde, all teams from Douglas’ Gila Region, are all in the state semifinals this week along with Williams Field.

Amphi faces Williams Field Thursday in one semifinal while Palo Verde and Santa Rita clash in the other.

The two winners will meet Saturday for the state championship.