Wednesday evening was electric on the campus of wonderful Grand Canyon University, as head coach Dan Majerle and his entire men's basketball staff looked on in observation of this year's 5A state semi-final match-ups. With two different semi-final games taking place on the evening, the stage was set for some exciting basketball action.
In the first semi-final game on the evening, Sunnyslope would face upset-focused Liberty High School, but Sunnyslope would avoid the upset in a major way - blowing out Liberty 69-38.
Liberty (21-8) was looking to knock off another top-ranked opponent, after shocking the state in the first round and defeating #2 seed Arcadia HS. But it would not happen for them on Wednesday evening, as Sunnyslope would come out on fire and looking to get back to the state's final game for the second year in a row.
Last season, Sunnyslope (26-4) reached the championship game in surprising fashion, only to fall short at the hands of eventual state champion Mesa HS. This season has been much different for the Vikings, as they returned almost every player and have cruised throughout the season. Sunnyslope does not have a senior on their roster this season, but the team has been terrific at times, and has played like a very mature team when it has counted.
Against Liberty, Sunnyslope would flat out get it done - making 10 of 14 field-goal attempts from three-point distance and shooting 59.6% from the field for the game.
Sunnyslope 6-foot-5 junior post Chris Orozco has been consistent in his play all season. He finished with a game-high 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in the win. Guard Andrew Greb was on fire Wednesday - connecting on 4 of 4 from three-point distance, and finishing with 16 points in the win.
Sunnyslope's 6-foot-3 junior guard/forward Kyle Fischer had a balanced effort with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Fischer was a major piece to last year's state final run for the Vikings.
Sunnyslope advances to the state championship game for the second year in a row. This year it will be in the 5A Division (6A state's top division), while last year they advanced in the state's previous top division (Division-I).
Sunnyslope will face a gifted and focused Apollo team in the 5A State Final on Monday evening. Apollo (26-3) has come up big all season long, and Wednesday evening was no different as they held off a talented Chaparral team, 76-62.
The game was extremely competitive throughout, but once Chaparral senior point guard Colten Kresl picked up his fourth foul in the third period and was delegated to the bench for a long stretch, Apollo capitalized and put the game out of reach.
The exciting and hard-2-guard Apollo backcourt of senior guards Holland "Boo Boo" Woods (Portland State signee) and Dre Marin (Southern Utah signee) were spectacular on the evening, as they finished with 22 and 29 points repectively. The two guards have destroyed their opponents' defenses all season long, and Wednesday evening was no different, as they both broke down defenders off the dribble consistently and finished plays at the rim.
Kresl would finish with 16 points before fouling out in the fourth period - causing his team to fall well behind Apollo with him on the bench.
Apollo will now face Sunnyslope again this season, after already defeating Sunnyslope their last two meetings on the season. Both wins though were close games, which included an amazing triple-overtime victory in which Holland Woods had a game-high 41 points.