Photo: Tournament MVP Uriah Tenette goes up against the Dysart front line
The Prescott Badgers closed out the championship game of the Judy Dixon Basketball Tournament with Uriah Tenette scoring the final nine points, and earning the tournament MVP in the process, in a 66-56 win over the Dysart Demons, at Greenway High School. Tenette said, “I knew that I was able to get the shots, and felt confident in making them, so that is what I did. Our team played good but we knew that they would battle to the end, and they did.” Tenette’s numbers on the night were 23 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Overall, his tournament numbers were 94 points, 23 assists, 21 rebounds, and 25 steals.
Coach Travis Stedman, “We played great in parts of the game, but made some mistakes that helped them get back into it. Uriah was not going to let us lose that game.” Looking forward Stedman added “This sets us up with really good momentum heading into region play.”
Like the previous three games, Prescott jumped on top early, this time on a three pointer by Cooper Magnette. The lead grew to 6-2, and 9-4. A pair of buckets by Jake Hilton, and two three pointers by Tenette, extended the lead to 19-11, ending at 19-13 after the first eight minutes.
The lead grew to ten at 28-18 with a minute and a half left in the second quarter, but the Demons would trim the lead to seven. The Badgers missed a shot with ten seconds left in the half, allowing Dysart a chance, sinking a shot at the buzzer, leaving the Prescott with a 31-24 lead at the half.
Photo: Jake Hilton scored 16 points in the championship game
Jake Hilton glided across the court on the reception for a layup for a 36-24 Badger lead, courtesy of a great pass by Andrew Lyon. Hilton, who finished with 16 points said, “That was a perfect pass. Prior to the tournament coach worked us ran us hard so we were ready to play against the 5A and 6A schools. This was great, being able to compete against in some good competition. These games just got us ready for region action.” Hilton added a pair of three point baskets to extend the lead, but only briefly.
Photo: Zane Gaul gets fouled in the second quarter
Dysart pulled within 42-35, but a great inbounds pass to and bucket by Micah Buettner in the paint, plus a foul making it an old fashioned three point play pushed the lead back to ten, 45-35 with 2:13 left in the third.
A last second basket at the end of the quarter by the Demons kept them in striking distance, trailing 48-42. A couple of Badger miscues and opportunities on loose balls, cost Prescott the lead when Nigel Anderson banked a shot off the glass to tie the game at 53 with 4:49 left. Baskets by Tenette and Gaul got the lead back 57-53 with 3:37 remaining. Dysart pulled to within 57-56 with 2:29 left, but after that it was all Uriah. The super sophomore, with help from his supporting cast, scored the final nine points as the Demons fell further behind and just could not score, thanks to some good Badger defense.
Zane Gaul, “That was some game tonight. We knew they would not go away and that we had to finish it.” About the tournament, and this all tournament team honor, Gaul added, “This was a good week of games for us. I just keep on trying to get better, and playing against some good teams is helping me do that. This tourney has given us some good momentum heading into region play.” Gaul had another double-double with 10 and 10, points and rebounds, and three blocked shots.
Cooper Magnette, who knocked down three key long range jumpers for nine points, said, “If I can make any impact in the game then that is a plus for our team. With guys like Uriah, Jake and Zane, I know those guys are going to carry us, but being able to knock down the shots I did tonight was great.”
Photo: The Badgers, with their championship trophy shared the moment with local legend Cal Cordes
The Badgers (8-1), in the midst of a five game winning streak, will open up region play on the road at Mohave, on Tuesday at 7 pm.
PRESCOTT BADGERS 66, DYSART DEMONS 56
PRESCOTT (66)-Magnette 3 0-0 9, Tenette 8 4-4 23, Buettner 2 1-1 5, Hilton 6 2-2 16, Gaul 3 4-4 10, Bassett 0 0-1 0, Lyon 1 0-0 3, Smith 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-1 0, Dutson 0 0-0 0, Shuster 0 0-0 0. 23 11-13 66.
DYSART (56)-Morales 4 0-0 8, Bolur 4 6-7 14, D. Anderson 4 3-5 11, L. Anderson 3 0-0 6, N. Anderson 4 4-4 12, Mendival 1 0-0 2, Lewis 0 1-2 1, Brown 0 0-2 0, Curtis 1 0-0 2. 21 14-20 56.
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Prescott 19 12 17 18 – 66
Dysart 13 11 18 14 – 56
Total Fouls-D 13, P 16
Fouled Out-None
Three Pointers-D (0), P(9)-Magnette 3, Tenette 3, Hilton 2, Lyon 1
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
Bradshaw Mountain 1-0 11-2
Lee Williams 1-0 7-4
Coconino 1-0 5-8
PRESCOTT 0-0 8-1
Mohave 0-1 4-5
Mingus 0-1 3-7
Flagstaff 0-1 2-10
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