It was an exciting early-season match-up on paper between two of the state's top overall teams and programs in the 6A Division. With such a highly anticipated early-season duel, it created a lot of excitement for those in attendance Friday evening, going into the game. There was one major difference between the two teams though, the dominant play of 6-foot-8 senior Michael Simcoe (UC-Santa Barbara signee). Coming off an excellent performance this spring and summer and a nice commitment and signing with UC-Santa Barbara in the fall, Simcoe is now ready to focus on winning an Open Division State Championship and/or a 6A State Championship this high school season, and, after witnessing his performance on Friday evening against DV, there will not be many people in the state to stop him and his teammates this season.
Desert Vista is a very talented but young group, and will have an excellent season behind the leadership of Head Coach Walter Bonner and his staff. On Friday evening, the team came out poised and ready to get the big early-season victory over one of the state's projected elite teams. Desert Vista would keep pace with Sandra Day O'Connor early, as they would go into the second period down only (6) points, 24-18.
In the second period, turnovers would plague Desert Vista, and Sandra Day O'Connor would start to pull ahead behind the strong inside play of Simcoe, and the perimeter shooting of 6-foot-1 senior guard Tayvion Wilson (Arizona Christian University signee). Wilson is just one of the very talented prospects on thsi year's Sandra Day O'Connor roster, which also included strong play from talented 6-foot-7 junior Colton Watson and promising 6-foot-7 junior Rylan Parsley.
Sandra Day O'Connor Head Coach Josh Cole is one of the top coaches in the state, and his zone defense, as well as the manner in which his well-coached group plays together, would begin to wear Desert Vista down throughout the first half. O'Connor would take a nice 44-32 lead with 1:45 left to play in the first half, after a strong two-handed follow-up tip-dunk by Michael Simcoe.
After a nice halftime lead for O'Connor, Simcoe would turn it up in the game's second half with his activity, and strong ability to finish around the rim, as well as his ability to sept outside to the perimeter and make shots. The combination of Simcoe's aggressive style around the basket, and the sharp-shooting of his teammates, and Sandra Day would hold on to a 68-58 lead going in the final period of play.
In the fourth quarter, Simcoe would come out strong to finish off the victory, as he would complete several monster dunks consecutively over defenders early in the fourth period, and Colton Watson also would drive the baseline and finish a dunk of his own. Desert Vista would then run out of gas, as Sandra Day would finish off the big 98-71 road victory.
Michael SImcoe would finish the game with an impressive stat line - a game-high 31 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Tayvion Wilson would also pour in 24 points and 7 assists in the win.
Sandra Day is one of the elite teams in the state, and will be very tough to beat this high school season. This team will give Perry High School, Millennium and every other state title contender everything they can handle this season. This is Sandra Day O'Connor's year and it they will be very exciting to watch all season. What an excellent performance.
Recruiting Notes: UNLV assistant coach Barrett Peery was in attendance for the game. 6-foot-7 junior Colton Watson is a big-time talent for the state's 2026 Class, and could be a prospect that UNLV begins to show strong interest in, as a result of his performance on Friday evening. Watson is a superb talent with excellent size and fluidity as a big guard. He has a good overall feel for the game, and has a high basketball IQ. A prospect on the rise.
