His father scored his first high school points in the Palo Verde gym and Rincon/University senior Brendan Rumel came full circle when he scored 20 points on the very same court Wednesday night to pass the 1,000-point career mark.

Rumel (6-foot-10) is averaging over 25 points and almost 13 rebounds a game for the Rangers so passing the scoring landmark became just a matter of time for the Portland State recruit.

"It's really special to get 1,000 in the gym where my father started out in," Rumel said. "I know it's important and I'm happy but there are still some things we need to work on to be more consistent as a team."

Rincon is 6-3 overall and 2-2 in non invitational games with divisional play starting on Friday when the Rangers travel to Marana Mountain View (5-2, 2-1).

Palo Verde (5-3, 2-2) was 5-1 at one point but a close 42-41 loss at Sahuaro on Monday was followed by the lopsided 69-29 loss to Rincon on Wednesday. The Titans made it to the D-III semifinal round last year under Jimmie Nelson Jr. but the coaching position opened up for the fourth time in four years and former Tucson High standout Marsharne Flannigan was hired to take over.

“I was the JV coach at Palo Verde last year and assisted Jimmie Nelson at the varsity level in which we made it to the Final Four," Flannigan said upon his new assignment.

"My plan is to continue what we started last year by providing my student athletes with the fundamentals of the game that will enhance their skills to play as a team. I want to develop productive citizens that will be able to move forward after high school.”

The Titans are already off to a better start than their miracle season last year while the Rangers are about where they were when they finished in the top 24 but were bumped out of the playoffs by a lower seed that won its section.

Rincon coach Rich Utter passed a huge milestone of his own when he collected his 400th victory earlier this year. This year might be his best shot at matching the success of his state runner-up finish in 2006 because his program will make the jump to 6A next year along with Sunnyside and Tucson.