Photo: Uriah Tenette splits through two defenders in the first half
The Prescott Badgers overcame an early onslaught by the Arizona College Prep Knights to win going away, 71-50 in a pumped up Badger Dome at Prescott High School.
Uriah Tenette led all scorers with 26. Zane Gaul had his 16th triple double of the season with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Cooper Magnett boosted the crowd with three baskets from downtown, and finished with 15 points.
The Knights came out with energy and sophomore Zach Cutler was hitting three pointers to give the Knights an early lead of 17-12 after one quarter.
Photo: Cooper Magnett goes up for two of his 15 points
The Badgers trailed the entire first half. The Knights lead grew to 25-12 midway through the second quarter. A timeout by Prescott coach Travis Stedman gave the home team a much needed reset. Cooper Magnett started off the comeback with his first three pointer of the night. The Badgers continued trimming the deficit, and when Uriah Tenette knocked down his only three pointer, and followed that up with a spin move to the basket, to tie the game 26-26 at the half.
Photo: Zane Gaul scored 20 points and had 15 rebounds in the win
A free throw by Zane Gaul gave the Badgers their first lead at 27-26, but the Knights countered to go up 28-27. Then Prescott added more pressure and would go on a 17-0 run to go on top 44-28. AZ College Prep was able to get back into the scoring column, but the Badgers kept on scoring as well. The lead would get as high as 28 points, 63-35 early in the fourth quarter before the Knights would cut Prescott lead down to 21 as the game ended.
Coach Travis Stedman said, “They came out and gave us something to think about early, but our team was able to get things under control. We had not played a game in a week, and this is only our second game in two weeks. I knew once we got into a rhythm we would be ok. Coming back to tie the game at the half set us up for that big third quarter. Now we get to play what could be a championship game with Deer Valley. This time we have Zane. He was injured the last time we played them and having him out there makes us a much better team.”
Zane Gaul said, “I did not play well in the first half. The second half we came out and did what we are capable of. I was much more aggressive getting inside and that produced more opportunities for myself and Uriah and Cooper.” Uriah Tenette agreed, “We just came out a little bit flat. It was all of us too. Once we got warmed up we were able to play at the level we know we can.”
Cooper Magnett said, “Slow start, but coming back to tie at the end of the first half was big. Coach felt we were in a good spot at that point and told us what we need to do to close out the game. We had a lot more energy and focus which is what we need to win these playoff games. Deer Valley will be tough but we have Zane this time, which will help us a lot.” Josiah Peoples added, “It had been a while since we played a game. I think we’re back to playing like we know we can now.”
Zach Cutter led the Knights with 19, and Fauster Johnson had 15 points as Arizona College Prep ends their season at (20-10). The Badgers (23-4) move onto to face Deer Valley (24-4) tonight at 7pm.
PRESCOTT BADGERS 71, AZ COLLEGE PREP KNIGHTS 50
AZ COLLEGE PREP (50)-Moore 1 3-6 5, Perez 3 0-0 6, Johnson 6 0-0 15, M. Kintner 1 0-0 2, Cutler 6 1-3 19, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Ballius 0 1-3 1, C. Kintner 0 0-0 0, Bhakta 0 0-0 0, Jordan 0 0-0 0, Bell 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 0-0 0. 18 5-12 50.
PRESCOTT (71)-Magnett 6 0-0 15, Tenette 8 9-10 26, Gaul 7 6-9 20, Fundalewicz 0 0-0 0, Peoples 3 0-0 7, Diener 0 0-0 0, Lyon 1 1-2 3, Bernardo 0 0-0 0, Schuster 0 0-0 0, Tobin 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0. 25 16-21 71.
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
AZ College Prep 17 9 9 15 – 50
Prescott 12 14 30 15 – 71
Total Fouls-AZ 22, P 12
Fouled Out-None
Three Pointers-AZ (9)-Cutler 6, Johnson 3. P(5)-Magnett 3, Tenette 1, Peoples 1.
PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD-BOYS
4A Round 1
Prescott 71, AZ College Prep 50
ALA-Gilbert North 77, Combs 61
Cactus 58, Mica Mountain 57
Deer Valley 69, Cortez 42
Dysart 59, ALA-Queen Creek 51
Mesquite 68, Bradshaw Mountain 42
Sahuaro 64, Paradise Honors 47
Thunderbird 70, Salpointe Catholic 58
5A Round 1
Cactus Shadows 58, Catalina Foothills 54
Chaparral 75, Cienega 68
Higley 70, Central 36
Canyon View 92, Cholla 56
Willow Canyon 86, Centennial 63
Apollo 73, McClintock 62
6A Round 1
Boulder Creek 71, Mountain View Mesa 54
Mesa 65, Desert Vista 62
Sandra Day O’Connor 63, Gilbert 32
Highland 48, Red Mountain 43
Dobson 60, Tucson 58
Pinnacle 88, Corona Del Sol 48
Liberty 55, Hamilton 52
Cesar Chavez 66, Chandler 61
1A CHAMPIONSHIP
The Gregory School 55, North Valley Christian Academy 52
CAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Trinity Christian 49, Wickenburg Christian Academy 37
CHAMPIONSHIP, Thursday at 7pm, at Cactus High School, Phoenix
#1 Trinity Christian (20-5) vs. #3 Tri-City Christian Academy (18-2)
QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE, Friday at 7pm
4A Division
#6 PRESCOTT (23-4) at #3 Deer Valley (24-4)
#9 Cactus (22-5) at #1 ALA-Gilbert North (22-5)
#5 Dysart (24-4) at #4 Sahuaro (22-4)
#7 Thunderbird (22-6) at #2 Mesquite (22-7)
5A Division
#9 Cactus Shadows (16-10) at #1 Ironwood (24-3)
#12 Chaparral (13-11) at #4 Higley (18-10)
#6 Willow Canyon (22-6) at #3 Canyon View (24-5)
#7 Apollo (19-7) at #2 Casteel (21-6)
6A Division
#9 Mesa (23-6) at #1 Boulder Creek (18-10)
#5 Sandra Day O’Connor (19-9) at #4 Highland (21-7)
#14 Dobson (15-11) at #6 Pinnacle (15-13)
#10 Liberty (16-12) at #2 Cesar Chavez (25-3)
Open Division
#9 Brophy Prep (17-10) at #1 Perry (21-6)
#5 Desert Mountain (21-7) at #4 Basha (21-6)
#6 Millennium (23-4) at #3 Sunnyslope (20-6)
#7 St. Mary’s (23-6) at #2 Notre Dame Prep (24-4)
3A Division
#5 ALA-Ironwood (17-9) vs #1 Valley Christian (27-2)
#3 Yuma Catholic (19-4) vs. #2 Gilbert Christian (22-5)
2A Division
#5 Phoenix Christian (24-3) vs. #1 San Tan Charter (27-3)
#3 Rancho Solano Prep (23-5) vs. #2 Arizona Lutheran (27-3)
