Basketball in Mesa, Arizona is a past-time, like baseball in many other areas. The city of Mesa is filled with basketball enthusiasts, and, as a result, Mesa and Mesa Mountain View High School are two historically elite programs that always make for an intense and exciting match-up. This season, due to the pandemic, the two programs would face off super early in the high school season, but this time void of the large contingent of fans and students. On Friday evening, both programs would compete in a much different looking environment and format, but with the same level of intensity and focus for both programs.
Mesa (2-0) would pull out a big rivalry home win over Mountain View (1-1), behind a nice performance from terrific 5-foot-11 senior floor general Steven Cervantes (Glendale JC commit), who would finish with a team-high 18 points in the win, which included numerous big shots down the stretch.
Both teams would struggle in the contest to shoot the basketball with any consistency throughout the game, as a result of the high level of intensity played defensively by both programs, and the heightened anticipation to score the basketball and gain an offensive edge on the competition. Mesa would lead 13-8 after the first period.
In the second quarter, after a steal and layup by Cervantes with 5:09 left to play in the half, and then a three-pointer from the corner by Cervantes with 2 minutes remaining, would push Mesa to a 21-14 lead before the half. Mesa would take a 25-16 lead into the half.
After a 34-25 lead after three quarters, Mountain View would remain close behind the strong play of 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Brigg Wolfe, but another three-pointer by Cervantes with 5 minutes left to play, and then another three-pointer from Cervantes with 3:21 left to play, would give Mesa some breathing room, 43-35. Another steal and transition layup from Cervantes late would give Mesa a nice 47-35 advantage.
Mesa would then finish off the exciting home victory in the finest of fashions, after a steal by athletic 6-foot-1 senior guard Jimari Grayson, and a no-look alley-oop pass in transition for a nice two-handed dunk by 6-foot-7 senior post Tanner Crawford just before the buzzer to give Mesa the 55-39 win over their rival.
Cervantes would finish with a team-high 18 points in the win, while terrific sophomore guard Brigg Wolfe would finish the game with a game-high 20 points in the loss.
It is again unfortunate that the pandemic protocols absolutely diminish the electric environment created by such an intense rivalry math-up, but this game still created a spectacle for those in attendance, as both programs play with such an inspired level of intensity and focus. I would pay the price of admission for this match-up on any given night, as both programs prove the value of the high school basketball experience, as well as impact of a true basketball culture created by two historic Arizona basketball programs that have created so many memorable experiences and players over the years.
