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SIERRA VISTA —Marc Matthews scored 22 points and RaShawn Avery had 12 of his 16 in a decisive third-quarter run that propelled the Buena boys basketball team to a 68-47 win over Cienega on Friday.

The win pushes Buena to 12-3 in power point counting games and sets up a huge rematch with Nogales tonight. The Colts won at the home of the defending state champions on Jan. 17, 66-63.

Friday night’s game was considerably closer than the first meeting in which the Colts sped away to an 82-52 win.

With just over a minute to go before halftime, the Bobcats trailed just 21-17, but a 6-2 finish to the period gave the Colts a 27-19 heading to the break.

Cienega came as close as four a minute into the third quarter before Avery and the Colts turned it on, going on a 16-0 run over the next 5:09.

Avery had 12 of those points, including a 5-of-5 showing at the line, and a spot-up three from the wing on a drive and kick from Marcus Mears that made it 38-23. Eighteen seconds later, Matthews nailed a three with a hand in his face to make it 41-23 and Avery capped the run with a layup in transition to give the Colts a commanding 43-23 lead that settled at 46-32 heading into the fourth.

Matthews’ points came on 9 of 17 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds. Avery had eight rebounds, four assists and four steals and Mears and Luke Reynolds had nine points apiece with Mears dishing out six assists and Reynolds pulling down five boards.

Cienega was led by Jefferey Somers with 13 points, and any hope the Bobcats had of staying in it, vanished when Somers picked up fouls three and four early in the 16-0 Buena run.

Buena’s overall record sits at 20-4, giving the Colts their sixth 20 win season in head coach Dave Glasgow’s seven years in Sierra Vista. Nogales comes in 18-4 overall and 13-1 in counting games. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Buena girls

VAIL — The Buena girls basketball team showed just how well it has righted its ship since a midseason funk, winning a hard-fought game at Cienega on Friday 41-38.

The last time the teams played in Sierra Vista on Jan. 6, Cienega won 45-32 to hand Buena its third loss in four games. Since that rough patch, the Colts have won five straight, and for the third game in a row, inspired play from sophomore guard Denesia Smith was a key factor.

Buena led by as many as eight points in the second half, only to see the Bobcats cut the lead to one early in the fourth.

That’s when Smith made two of her five steals, igniting fastbreak buckets that, along with some clutch free-throws from Kelaiah Dillard, enabled the Colts to hang on.

Smith and forward Nidja Thomas, who had the game-winning jumper in Tuesday’s 54-51 win over Thatcher, had 12 points apiece. Thomas had nine rebounds and Smith seven to go with her three assists.

The Colts improved to 11-5 in counting games and 16-7 overall, heading into their next contest at home on Tuesday against Douglas. Douglas defeated Buena 50-45 in Douglas on Jan. 13. The Bulldogs defeated Tombstone on Friday to shoot to 20-2 on the season.

Herald/Review sports editor Matt Hickman can be reached at 515-4612 or by e-mail at sports@svherald.com.