A Season To Remember: 2012 Otero Rattlers

The 2011-2012 season will go down as the greatest season in Otero Men's basketball history. The Rattlers finished the season 30-6, won the Region IX Championship, and advanced to the Elite 8 of the NJCAA Tournament. Led by Head Coach, Houston Reed, this year's team will be remembered for how hard they played, their unselfish attitude offensively, and their suffocating defense (59.6 ppg allowed). The eight sophomores (Wes McKenzie, Oscar Garcia, Taylor Shaffer, Lucas Archuleta, Dylan Fritsch, Brandon Harris, Adam Link, and Anthony Johnson) took ownership of this team and weren't going to settle for anything less than a Region IX Championship.

REGION IX TOURNAMENT

Otero finished the regular season with a 25-4 record and the 2nd seed in the South Sub-Region. The magical run began in Scottsbluff, Nebraska (Western Nebraska hosted) when the Rattlers defeated Gillette College 81-59 in the first round of the tournament.  Adam Link had an electic performance with 27 points and 11 rebounds.  Next, Otero defeated a tough Sheridan team 83-72 to advance to the Final 4. Point guard play was huge for the Rattlers as Brandon Harris had 17 pts and Perryonte Smith chipped in 12 pts. The game was finished off with back to back buckets by Wes McKenzie and Lucas Archuleta. Otero then faced Miles City in the Semi-Final of the Region IX tournament.Wes McKenzie led the way with 21 pts and freshman Chris Strong poured in 13 pts with 10 of them coming in the first half. The Rattlers were able to seal the game with two huge put-backs by Oscar Garcia. Otero would now face Casper College in the first ever Championship game appearance for the Rattlers. The game was a heavy-weight fight with both teams trading punches. The Rattlers led by as many as 16 points in the 2nd half but Casper trimmed the Otero lead to a mere point with 12 seconds remaining. The Rattlers finally broke the T-Bird press and Perryonte Smith scored a lay-up to put Otero up three points with 2.8 seconds remaining. Casper had a half-court shot attempt, but it went wide and a chaotic celebration ensued for the Rattlers. That night in Scottsbluff will be cherished by everyone involved.



HUTCH...

Just days after winning the first Region IX Championship in program history, the Rattlers were on a bus headed to the most sought after desination in all of junior college basketball: Hutchinson, Kansas. The NJCAA tournament is always held in Hutch and it was a spectacular experience for our team. Our team host, Buck Lyle, did an tremendous job of making our stay special. The Rattlers drew a tough Wabash Valley team in the first round. Otero led for almost the entire game, but Wabash tied the score with 40 seconds remaining. Fortunately, Wes McKenzie buried a contested 17ft jump shot with 5 seconds left. Wabash took a last second shot, but it was off-line and the Rattlers advanced to the Elite 8. Otero faced Northwest Florida St. for a chance to go to the NJCAA Final 4. The Rattlers led NW Florida, the #2 in the Nation, for much of the game. However, NW Florida made a few more plays in the end and were able to beat the Rattlers 77-71. The next day, Otero faced Columbia State for the right to keep playing for 5th and 6th place. While Otero held an 8 point advantage at half time, the Rattlers ran out of gas in the 2nd half and were defeated 79-67.  

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Coming into this season, our players bought into the idea of having high expectations for themselves and one another. They worked to improve daily as individuals and as a group. As coaches we wish we could take credit for what our team did this season. We cannot. Our players had shared suffering, shared ownership, individual responsibilty and collective pride. As coaches, we were simply along for the ride. And it was an unforgettable journey.