While there will be a very interesting match-up in the division-I finals on Monday, the championship game for the state’s Division-II Class will be epic, as the premier team in the division and also the premier team in the state of Arizona all season long, Shadow Mountain High School, will face an almost undefeated team in Agua Fria High School Monday evening in the Division-II final game of the year at Gila River Arena. Shadow Mountain (26-5) advanced to the state finals after escaping another big upset loss to Paradise Valley HS. Shadow had recently loss to PV in January,…
Author: Anthony Ray
The finals are set for the Division-I Class, after the Mesa Jackrabbits and the Sunnyslope Vikings were able to advance on Friday evening at Grand Canyon University. Both teams won their D-I semi-final match-ups and received a birth into the D-I finals on Monday evening at Gila River Arena @ 8PM. Mesa (24-4) advanced to this year’s final game after a big 50-35 win over a very talented Basha HS team. This match-up seemed to be the best game on paper of the high school season. Well, until the game began and Mesa imposed their will on Basha. Mesa played…
On February 24th 2016, Arizona’s best boys’ division-II basketball teams met and competed at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Many of the games on the day came down to last second shots, which made it a very entertaining evening of basketball. The first game of the day had Paradise Valley beating Nogales HS by the score of 52 to 51. The second game on the day featured Sunrise Mountain of Peoria beating Sunnyside of Tucson in double overtime, 80-77. The third game on the evening featured a game-winning shot by Agua Fria, as they beat Catalina Foothills from Tucson…
Sunnyslope High School (24-4) has been on a tear all season, and while they were never a big name in the minds of Arizona basketball enthusiasts, this team has been destined for something big all season. After big wins this high school season over such programs as Gilbert, Brophy Prep, Mountain Pointe, Desert Mountain, Mountain Ridge and Chandler, just to name a few, Sunnyslope has been my favorite all season to do something big in the Division-I state playoffs. On Wednesday evening, in the final game of the day’s string of Division-I playoff games at Wells Fargo Arena, Sunnyslope HS…
Tri-City Christian (20-1) had almost ran the table this high school season in the CAA Division – knocking off everyone of their opponents this season and looking to win it all in fine fashion on Tuesday evening at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. To do it, they would need to defeat Student Choice Prep Academy again. Tri-City had defeated Student Choice 47-44 in an earlier meeting on the season. It would make for a perfect season for do-it-all 6-foot-7 senior forward Brock Gardner (Liberty University signee), who has had an unbelievable season – making his case this season as the…
The 2015-2016 junior college basketball season in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is now winding down, as we head into the end of the season. Here are this week’s Players of the Week in men’s basketball in the conference . . . ACCAC D-I Player of the Week: Andre Nikita, Arizona Western Andre Nikita again led Arizona Western to two ACCAC wins this past week – averaging 29.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds, a block and a steal per contest. He shot 54% from the field, including a blistering 67% from the 3-point line for the Matadors. Nikita now has…
The 2015-2016 junior college basketball season in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is winding down. Here are this week’s Players of the Week in women’s basketball in the conference . . . ACCAC D-I Player of the Week: Brijanee Moore – Central Arizona Brijanee Moore had an unbelievable two games last week, recording two triple-doubles in wins over Pima and Cochise JC. She had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists against Pima and 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against Cochise. She also averaged 5 steals in each win. ACCAC D-II Player of the Week: Briana Clah – Mesa…
The Division-I state playoffs have been in full swing this week with the first round and second rounds taking place across the state. Saturday night saw 8 different playoff match-ups, with each game being held on the home floor of the higher seeded team. As a result of Saturday evening’s contests, we now have our state quarterfinal match-ups for the Division-I Class. #1 seed Corona Del Sol, #2 seed Mesa, #3 seed Basha HS, #4 seed Gilbert HS, #5 seed Mesa Mountain View, #8 seed Sunnyslope HS, #10 seeded St. Mary’s HS and #22 seed Pinnacle HS. With many of…
The 2015-2016 junior college basketball season in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is now winding down, as we head into the end of the season. Here are this week’s Players of the Week in men’s basketball in the conference . . . ACCAC D-I Player of the Week: Darrian Ringo, Eastern Arizona In two wins last week for Eastern Arizona, freshman guard Darrian Ringo averaged 34.5 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and a block – including an impressive 47-point, 6-assist night in a win against Scottsdale JC. Ringo shot 58% from the field and 87% from the free…
South Mountain Junior College (17-11) is definitely playing their best basketball of the junior college season, and at the right time of the year. After winning four games in a row and becoming the ACCAC’s hottest team, South would fall in overtime to top-ranked Cochise College last weekend. On Wednesday evening and at home again, South Mountain would look to get back on the winning track against an Eastern Arizona (20-8) team that is in the hunt for a conference title this season. Eastern came into Wednesday’s game riding a high, after winning both of their games last week. 6-foot-2…