Chaparral High School was the destination for a highly-anticipated matchup between the Pinnacle Pioneers (23-6) and the Mesa Jackrabbits (24-5). Both teams were showing off some great talent, with both teams being potential final-four candidates. The game opened up fast paced. Back and forth they went, attacking the basket and running the break whenever possible. Mesa’s 6-foot-2 senior guard DJ Henderson hit back-to-back threes for Mesa to force a Pinnacle timeout with three minutes left in the quarter, 18-10 Mesa. Pinnacle was able to finish the quarter strong and was down 22-17 after one. The second quarter started and Pinnacle 6-foot-4…
Author: azpreps
On Wednesday, February 6th I watched the 2nd game of the night at Desert Ridge High School for a sectional match-up for Division-I, Section II – the #2 seed Gilbert Tigers (21-6) versus #7 seed Buena Colts (20-9). Gilbert HS 6-foot-6 junior forward Spencer Nicolds started the game off with a deep 3-pointer for a 3-0 lead. Then 6-foot-8 sophomore post Truman Moore scored an easy basket for a 5-0 lead. Nicolds would hit another deep three for an 8 to 0 lead, before Truman Moore would score on another basket inside for a 10 to 0 lead for Gilbert HS. Buena called a time-out and also looked timid and maybe even…
On February 6th I was at Desert Ridge High School for a sectional match-up of Division-I, Section-II – the #3 seed Hamilton Huskies (21-6) versus the #6 seed Cienega Bobcats (20-7). Both teams had good records but played much different schedules to get here.The game started and 6-foot-7 sophomore center James Sosinksi scored two points down low for a 2 to 0 early lead. Then 6-foot-4 sophomore wing Terrence Johnson drove by his man and got fouled – making 1 of 2 free-throws for a 2 to 1 lead for Hamilton. 6-foot junior guard Zach Evans and 6-foot-1 senior guard Nate Walker hit back-to-back long shots for a 7 to 1 lead…
The Pinnacle Pioneers hosted the Desert Mountain Wolves in a matchup of a couple of potential final-four teams. Pinnacle was 19-6 coming into this game, while Desert Mountain sat at an impressive 21-3. The environment was reminiscent of a tournament game, as fans filed in, filling up the seats to the top. The game started and both teams came out with energy. The first real excitement came two minutes in when Desert Mountain’s Mark Andrews stole a pass and finished on the other end with a fast break dunk. However, Pinnacle answered well, as 6-foot-4 junior guard Dorian Pickens hit…
On Thursday, January 31st it was senior night at Perry HS (16-11), as the Pumas took on the Hamilton Huskies (18-6). Perry HS 6-foot-6 junior forward Geoffrey Vredevoogd started the game off with a lay-up inside. Then Hamilton 6-foot-1 senior guard Nate Walker made a jumper for a 2 to 2 tie game. Perry 5-foot-11 freshman PG Bryce Fisher earned a surprise start and made the best of it, and he hit a three-pointer after a nice pass from 5-foot-10 senior PG Nathan Henderson. Walker then hit another jumper for a 5 to 4 Perry lead early on. Henderson and Walker exchanged lay-ups for a 7 to…
On Tuesday, January 29th it was senior night at Chandler High School, and an extremely emotional night for many. Chandler (12-14) has had a down year with the injury of 6-foot-4 senior guard/forward Kyndahl Holmes (torn ACL), but wanted to show local rival Hamilton (17-6) how much pride they had. 5-foot-9 senior PG Daquise Gaines started off the game with the ball, and used his incredible speed to get to the line – making two free-throws for a 2-0 lead. Then Hamilton’s 6-foot-7 sophomore post James Sosinsnki went to work on the block for a 2 to 2 game. 6-foot-4 junior forward Jared McCleery earned an “and-1”…
Notre Dame hosted Scottsdale’s Saguaro in this matchup – Notre Dame holding a 5-5 conference record, while Saguaro came in with an impressive 9-2 conference record. The game started out slow and unexciting. With Saguaro’s big three scorers, expectations were that it would be a shootout, but it was just the opposite at the start. Despite Saguaro’s dynamic scoring ability, Notre Dame did a good job defensively and found themselves down only 13-10 after one. Despite the Saints’ solid defensive effort, their offense was practically non-existent throughout the quarter, with a few buckets here and there. To have any chance, they…
I was at Mesa’s Mountain View High School for a heated rivalry between #9 Mountain View (14-9) and #3 Mesa (19-4) on Thursday, January 24th. The crowd was rowdy before the tip of this rematch game that went to Mesa (61-50) two weeks ago. MV started in a 1-2-2 zone to limit the penetration of the Mesa guards. 6-foot-4 sophomore PG Jalen Jenkins grabbed an offensive rebound and made a lay-up for a 2-0 lead for Mesa. Then a lay-up for 6-foot-10 junior center Isaac Allen, followed by a layup by 6-foot-2 junior guard Colten Meo for a 4 to 2 lead for Mesa. Then Jenkins hit a 15-foot jumper…
On Wednesday, January 23rd the Chandler Wolves (12-12) hosted the Perry Pumas (15-8). It was a rematch of 15 days ago that had Chandler defeating Perry by 6 (63-57). Tonight Perry would be looking for some revenge. It was an important game for both teams, who were trying to make the state playoffs with only 4-5 games left. Perry would draw first blood and 6-foot-4 junior forward Jake Mortenson went right to work and scored a lay up for a 2 to 0 lead for Perry. 5-foot-10 junior PG Jordan Howard then hit a 3-pointer for a 5-0 lead. Jordan Howard hit for 2…
An MLK Day event at Grand Canyon University was the setting for a good matchup between the Millennium Tigers and the Westview Knights. The appealing matchup in this game was in the post, between Westview’s 6-foot-8 junior center Andre Adams and Millennium’s 6-foot-9 junior center Elston Jones. Early on in the game, there was almost no offense, as our first point was a free-throw at the six and a half minute mark. However, once Westview scored this first point, they seemed to take control. Millennium’s offense struggled against the 1-3-1 zone Westview was running. It seems that Westview was attempting to keep…