Open Division Round 2 Review

Friday night, the open division men’s basketball playoffs had its second round games. There were 8 games, with three being extremely competitive and exciting. All 8 higher seeded teams advanced to the quarterfinals, making the quarter finals the 8 best teams from the regular season. The quarter finals kick off Friday the 28th with 4 highly anticipated and exciting matchups.

Brophy 54, Perry 83

This was a complete and utter domination by the Pumas. The Pumas came out of the gate hitting threes left and right, with Dominic Avalos having 12 points in the opening frame alone. He would go on to have 20 points on the night. The Pumas domination was also courtesy of Bruce Branch and D’Andre Harrison, who both had 26 and 15 respectively. Koa Peat basically had a 

night off, not needing to do much as the Pumas’ supporting cast got it done for Perry High. Perry looks well on its way to capturing its 4th consecutive title.

Highland 61, Ironwood 72

Ironwood played a very sound game, dominating the Hawks in the first half and suffocating their offense in the fourth. Ironwood proved a lot of doubters wrong, including myself, by making it this far into the tournament. Ironwood will have its toughest test of the season coming up against the Perry Pumas, but when you shoot the three and play defense like the Eagles do, there is always a chance.

Higley 52, O’Connor 71

O’Connor got off to an extremely hot start, going on a 21-2 run to begin the game. The Eagles made it look laughably easy on both sides of the ball, and Higley didn’t stand a chance from the tip off. The final score is not a reflection of how dominant the Eagles were in this one, as they dominated, advancing to the quarterfinals.

Deer Valley 59, Basha 61

Deer Valley controlled this game for three and a half quarters, leading by as much as 11 at times. The Skyhawks’ full court press was suffocating, creating communication issues for the Bears at many times. The Bears were without star point guard Mason Magee, who is questionable to return for the rest of the postseason, and the lack of communication on the offensive end showed. The Bears got their role players to step up in the fourth, with DJ Detrizio and Drew Alexander playing tenacious defense and hitting multiple clutch buckets to avoid the upset. Without Magee, this team is completely different and will not be favored going into their quarterfinal matchup against O’Connor.

Canyon View 50, Millennium 89

In a matchup between these rival schools from the Agua Fria school district, the Tigers of Millennium High showed no mercy. Head coach Ty Amundsen was not on the bench coaching after his health scare earlier this week where he suffered a heart attack and had a stint planted in his heart, however, the Tigers used his presence in the stands to dominate the Jaguars. JT Amundsen, Ty’s son, was hitting clutch bucket after clutch bucket, and star Cameron Holmes finished the night with 33 points.

Hamilton 53, Notre Dame Prep 55

Notre Dame narrowly escaped this one as the Huskies were playing incredibly tough defense and would answer nearly every bucket the Saints would put in. It was a hard fought victory for NDP, and they pulled it off in front of the home crowd, surviving and advancing to face Millennium in Goodyear on Thursday night.

Williams Field 52, Boulder Creek 72

Boulder Creek struggled to get going through the first one and a half quarters, making this one seem like it was going to be a close battle until the end. However, the Jags came out and controlled the second half, giving the Blackhawks no easy buckets whatsoever, holding the Blackhawks to just 52 total points on the night. Boulder Creek will look to get its revenge against Sunnyslope on Friday night.

St Mary’s 60, Sunnyslope 64

Sunnyslope nearly had its fantastic season spoiled by Cameron Williams and the Knights, however, good coaching and smart play calling would lead the Vikings to the quarterfinal round. Sunnyslope had good production from the usual suspects of Delton Prescott, Darius Wabbington, and Rider Portela. Sunnyslope will have a rematch with Boulder Creek at home next Friday.