The Sedona Red Rock High School boys basketball team rebounded from a 16-7 first quarter deficit to claim a big 60-57 victory at home Monday, Dec. 14, over Wickenburg High School.

“I saw some good things out there. We have to continue to work and get better because they only get tougher from here,” third-year Sedona Head Coach Bob Murphy said.

With the victory, Sedona improves to 5-3 overall on the season and is now 3-1 in power point games. The Scorpions are ranked No. 10 in the Arizona Interscholastic Association power-point polls, which were released Thursday, Dec. 17.

Junior point guard Martin Galvez led the Scorpions with 20 points on 7-14 shooting against Wickenburg including

6-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch to help earn his team the victory.

“I’m glad we were able to pull this one out. I knew we could beat this team but at times, we didn’t play that well,” Galvez said on the court after the game Monday.

Galvez has returned to form in the last two weeks after severely spraining his ankle just before Thanksgiving last month.

The junior point guard also added six rebounds and two assists in the victory.

Next in line in the scoring department was senior swing man Milton Galvez, Martin’s cousin, who scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting while adding five rebounds.

The Galvez family was a big reason the Scorpions went on a 25-7 run in the second quarter against Wickenburg on Monday, taking a 32-23 lead at halftime in front of a decent home crowd.

Wickenburg outscored the Scorpions 18-16 in the third quarter but still trailed 48-39 heading into the fourth.

The Wranglers made a run at a victory late in the fourth quarter and the Scorpions almost gave it away as senior guard Pedro Ortega Jr. was 1-8 from the free-throw line in the last 1 minute and 30 seconds of the game.

Ortega certainly wasn’t the only one as several Sedona players couldn’t figure out what to do defensively and when they had the ball on offense, played catch with the out-of-bounds line at times.

Ortega had four points, three rebounds, three steals, four assists and eight turnovers on the game.

The Scorpions were 13-27 from the line as a team in the game against Wickenburg while recording 23 turnovers, a recipe for disaster, most would say.

“I had to exhale after the game because we almost gave them an early Christmas present. We need to learn to put games away when we have the chance,” Murphy said.

The “a-win’s-a-win” attitude may only go so far, Murphy said after the contest, but for now, the Scorpions will be forced to enjoy it.

Other standouts include senior Kevin Cox, who scored eight points on 4-6 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds and collecting three blocks.

Senior Thomas Wisbey scored six points and had one steal.

The Scorpions will have to come to play Friday, Dec. 18, if they expect to compete with two-time defending 3A state champion Estrella Foothills High, who will definitely be coming to town looking for an easy victory against Sedona.

“We will practice hard and get ready for them. They are really good and we’ll have to play well,” Murphy said on Monday.

The Wolves are ranked No. 1 in the state by the AIA polls and The Arizona Republic.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Brian Bergner Jr. can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 131, or e-mail bbergner@larsonnewspapers.com