#2 seed Kellis High School (26-2) has rolled through their competition this season, but Wednesday evening at Wells Fargo Arena, in this year's quarterfinal playoff, they would struggle against #7 seed Paradise Valley (24-6) - winning a narrow victory in overtime, 52-51.
Kellis would jump out to an early lead in the game, 17-8, in the first quarter after a three-pointer from the corner from 6-foot-5 senior forward Bikonzi Moise.
Paradise Valley would climb back in the period, and only trail by 3 points after the first - 17-14.
Paradise Valley would quickly narrow the margin in the second period, after a tap in alley-oop by 6-foot-6 junior forward Paul Watson.
Kellis would take a 26-24 lead into halftime.
Paradise Valley would keep pace with Kelllis in the third period. After a 37-35 lead after three quarters, Kellis would increase their margin to 41-35 with 6:49 left to play in regulation after a basket and the foul by 6-foot junior BJ Freeman.
Paradise Valley again would storm back after a mid-range jumper from 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Brandon Williams, and a strong layup inside by 6-foot-3 junior forward Anthony Walker.
Paradise Valley would then tie the game at 46 all with a minute left to play in regulation, after a big three-pointer from 6-foot-5 junior Ryan Finley.
After missed opportunities by both teams, the game would head into overtime.
In overtime, with both teams matching one another over a 3 minute stretch, ultra-talented 6-foot-9 senior post Kenny Martin (Arizona State signee) would rebound a missed free throw from a teammate and get fouled on the shot attempt. Martin would calmly sink both free throws to give his team a narrow 52-51 advantage with 30.3 seconds left to play.
After a timeout from Paradise Valley head coach Mark MacGowan, the Trojans would draw up a play but fail to get off a good shot. With Kellis in a 2-3 zone defensively, the Trojans would turn the ball over with 1.9 seconds remainning in the game. Feeling flustered after a lack of execution, the Paradise Valley players would give up as Kellis would inbound the basketball and run out the clock for the win - a play that left everyone in attendance in shock.
Kenny Martin led Kellis with a game-high 20 points, numerous rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals in the win. While not seeing the basketball much in his team's offense, Martin willed his team to the vicotry with relentless rebounding and a serious motor.
Paradise Valley's star junior forward Paul Watson finished with a team-high 18 points in the loss, but failed to score a field goal in the fourth quarter or in overtime.
Kellis will now move on to face #3 seed Tucson Amphitheater HS Thursday evening at Grand Canyon University in the Division-II semi-finals.
Playoff Notes: #3 seed Tucson Amphitheater (30-3) defeated Sierra Linda HS 74-59 in their quarterfinal match-up Wednesday afternoon. The win was Amphi's 19th win in a row, as they will now advance to their fourth semi-final berth in the last four years.
6-foot-4 senior guard/forward Tim Derksen (University of San Francisco signee) led his team with a game-high 22 points in the win.
Amphitheater's 15-1 run to open the quarter put Sierra Linda in a big hole, and Sierra Linda would not score a point in the second quarter until less than 4 minutes remainning in the first half. Amphi would never look back from there.
