It was as exciting an atmosphere as we have seen thus far this season, as two of the state's elite high school basketball programs faced off with one another just before the amazing holiday weekend, and in front of a packed house. Sunnyslope (6-2) is back on the rise and playing excellent basketball right now - winning their last (4) games on the high school season, including a huge win over Perry High School - a rematch of last year's Open Division State Championship game. The Vikings would travel to Brophy Prep (6-4) on Friday evening in a long-time rivalry match-up. Sunnyslope and Brophy Prep have shared students for many years, since the two schools sit closely to one another in the heart of Central Phoenix. Both programs also have strong basketball programs, and it would make for an exciting contest.
The night would surely belong to 6-foot sharp-shooting sophomore guard John Mattingly, who would come out on fire from the beginning of the contest, and play with serious aggression all to way to the end of it. Mattingly has been regarded by our staff as one of the elite prospects in Arizona's 2026 Class for some time now, and he continues to prove us right, as he has now taken his game to another level. Mattingly's strong play and offensive aggression would give the Vikings a tremendous boost on the evening, in what would be a very close contest down to the end.
The first quarter would bein with both teams competing hard and with excellent intensity, in what was a tremendous environment for a basketball game. The quarter would end with serious fireworks, as Brophy's 6-foot-3 senior guard Braeden Speed would knock down a three-pointer with just seconds left to play in the period - giving Brophy a 19-17 lead. Soon after inbounding the basketball, and with just seconds left remaining on the clock, Mattingly would fire a running shot from half-court that would swish through the net - giving Sunnyslope back the lead, 20-19, to end the quarter.
With 2:42 left to play in the second period, surging 6-foot-4 sophomore sniper Ryan Burbach would knock down a three-pointer to give Brophy the lead, but Mattingly would again bring Slope back. After a three-pointer and then a nice mid-range jumper from Mattingly, he would then finish another transition layup to push Slope ahead 32-30 with 1:33 to play in the first half.
Brophy's 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Hale Hansen would knock down a big three-pointer to end the first half for Brophy, giving the Broncos the narrow lead, 33-32 at the half.
In the third period, Mattingly would not be denied and would get right back to it - pumping in a three-pointer, then a floater in the lane and then another three-pointer to help Slope extend a lead to a 7-point advantage - 42-35.
Brophy would not be denied as a team either, as they would fight back and take back the lead, 47-45, after a three-pointer from 6-foot-1 senior guard Nick Sanford, and then a floater in the lane from 6-foot-4 sophomore Daylen Sharper.
In the fourth period, Mattingly would push Slope back to a 6-point lead, 56-50, after a driving layup around a defender. Mattingly would then come right back with another driving basket, and put his team up 58-50 late in the contest. Brophy Prep would come back in the final minute to make it close, but after a long three-point heave by Daylen Sharper as the buzzer sounded, Sunnyslope would walk away with a nice 62-60 road win.
John Mattingly would finish the contest with an impressive game-high 36 points in the victory, while Brophy's Braeden Speed would also pour in a team-high 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the loss.
