Corona Del Sol High School (32-1) is destined to win their fourth-straight Division-I state championship this season, but their chances looked a little bit shaky on Wednesday evening after a late surge by Central High School (25-7) at Wells Fargo Arena.
Corona is not very deep at all, as terrific head coach Sam Duane Jr. does not go very deep into his bench and has not all season long. The effects of exhaustion began to wear down the Aztecs late in the game on Wednesday, but their fresh legs and loads of talent early in the game were enough to hold off a very athletic and talented team from Central late.
Corona would jump out to a quick and early lead in the game, behind strong play from nationally acclaimed 6-foot-10 freshman post Marvin Bagley Jr. in the first period. With poor transition defense from Central, the Aztecs would build a 21-8 lead after the first quarter.
In the second period, Central would make some adjustments and Central HS star 6-foot-6 senior forward Famoun Miller would get it going for his team. After back-to-back baskets from Miller late in the second period, Central would narrow Corona's lead to 10 points, 26-16. Then a three-pointer from Miller with 2 minutes left to play in the half, would pull Central to within 7 of Corona - 29-22. Corona would go into the half with a 35 to 26 advantage.
In the third period, Corona would regroup and come out on a mission, once again. Corona would build a strong double-digit lead again, before Miller would again bring Central back in the contest. A nice one-handed dunk over a defender by Miller would give Central confidence once again, but Bagley would answer quickly with a couple highlight reel dunks of his own. A strong two-handed windmill dunk on the break by Bagley, and then a two-handed tip-dunk on a missed shot by a teammate by Bagley would push the Corona lead to 15 points late in the third period.
In the fourth period, Central would not give up. In fact, Central would look to win the game with an enourmous run of their own - putting Corona back on their heels. A steal and dunk by Miller, a three-pointer from talented 5-foot-11 senior point guard Obi Megwa, a rebound and put-back by Miller, a driving basket by Miller and then a nice tap in by Miller on a missed shot by a teammate, and Central would pull within 3 points of Corona. A 17 to 5 run by Central would have the Bobcats looking for the big upset win.
But then with less than 2 minutes left to play in the game, Central would fail to convert a big layup inside, which would have brought them to within 1 point of the Aztecs. Instead, Corona would convert free-throws down the stretch to hold on to the lead, until Megwa would hit another big three-pointer late in the contest - bringing Central to within 2 points, 61-59. But Megwa would foul out in the final minute of the game after fouling Corona star sophomore guard Alex Barcello. Barcello would convert 3 of 4 free-throws late in the game to give the Aztecs the quarterfinal victory, 67-61.
Barcello struggled from the field on the evening, finishing just 3 of 13 from the field, while Bagley would finish with a game-high 25 points. New Mexico signee, 6-foot-6 senior forward Dane Kuiper would contribute 16 points in the win.
Central was led by a team-high 22 points from Obi Megwa, while Famoun Miller finished with 20 points.
Corona Del Sol will now face Chaparral HS (26-5) in the semi-finals on Saturday at Grand Canyon University. Chaparral easily got past St. Mary's on Wednesday afternoon at Wells Fargo, 75-59. Chaparral jumped out to a 20-5 lead after one quarter and never looked back. St. Mary's would make a late run, but would run out of gas.
Chaparral was led by a game-high 26 points from Grand Canyon signee, Kenzo Nudo and also 6-foot-5 senior forward Ryan Bayster, who finished with a strong effort, 22 points.
St. Mary's (17-13) was led by the play of star sophomore guard Marcus Shaver, who finished with a team-high 25 points in the loss. Shavers struggled from the field, missing his first eight shots in the game - finishing the first half with five points. Shaver finished 10 for 27 from the floor for the game.
In the other Division-I semi-final match-up, Mesa Mountain View will face Desert Vista.
Mesa Mountain View (24-7) breezed past a talented Gilbert (21-8) team that has been up and down all season. Mesa Mountain View is always well coached, led by the state's premier coach - Gary Ernst. Mountain View ran their offense well enough to break away from Gilbert in the fourth period after a 12-1 run to open the fourth period.
Mountain View's 6-foot-1 junior guard Tommy Kuhse finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field - including 5 three-pointers. 6-foot-7 senior post David Beecher scored 15 points and 6-foot-1 senior guard Trevor Willis added 13 points.
Gilbert was led by 6-foot-8 senior post Truman Moore (Utah Valley State signee) with 14 points and 6-foot-6 junior Chris Bowling and Nick Agostino both finished with 10 points apiece.
Desert Vista (25-4) will meet Mesa Mountain View in the semi-finals after defeating Mesa High School (26-5). A very talented Desert Vista team built an early 15-2 lead in the first period, and were able to overcome a late charge by Mesa.
Gifted senior forward Brandon Clarke (San Jose State signee) led Desert Vista with a team-high 16 points, while Mesa was led by Kale Abbott, who scored 12 points for Mesa. Abbott made four three-pointers for Mesa.
