Photo: 1 Uriah Tenette launches a three point basket in his final home game of his junior season. Tenette won the scoring title this year in the state of Arizona, and was also Grand Canyon Region Player of the Year
The quest for a state basketball title this season came to an end with 64-50 loss at Deer Valley. The Skyhawks (25-4) will move on to face Mesquite, while the Badgers end a great season at (23-5).
The Badgers came out and took a quick 5-0 lead, and led 8-2 on long range jumpers by Cooper Magnett and Uriah Tenette, before Deer Valley got settled in. The Skyhawks came back to take a 9-8 lead and the two teams exchanged baskets to close out the first quarter.
The game was tied at 21 before Deer Valley took a 31-27 lead at the half as the Badgers closed out the half with three point baskets by Tenette and senior Andrew Lyon to make it 28-27, but Travis Vasquez hit his own three as the clock ran out.
The Skyhawks came out and were very aggressive in building a lead, but when Zane Gaul hit a three pointer, the Badgers were within 44-42 as the final quarter got underway. Soon after Gaul would pick up a foul on a clean block, one of two bad calls on the junior center in a critical second half.
Josiah Peoples had what could have been a uncontested layup but he got hammered by the defender, which should had been a flagrant foul, but that was not one of the 44 foul calls in the game. Peoples was unable to convert on the free throws leaving the Badgers trailing 53-42 midway through the final quarter. Peoples said, “That was a really hard foul. I was still trying to get calm when I went to shoot, but they didn’t go for me. We had a good season and we will be back next year.”
Tenette, the leading scorer in the state of Arizona, averaging 32 points a contest, did his best to bring Prescott back going to the line knocking down eight free throws, but Deer Valley got some big shots from Travis Vasquez and Sergio Gonzales. AJ Ajawin missed a pair of free throws then knocked down his final four as the lead grew in the last minutes of the game.
Prescott trailed 58-50 with 1:40 left but could not score down the stretch.
The Badgers have now lost five straight to Deer Valley dating back to the 2018 season. The Skyhawks remain perfect at home with 16 straight wins this season. Deer Valley last lost at home game on January 27, 2023, a 67-62 loss to Cactus.
Uriah Tenette led all scorers with 23. Zane Gaul had 11 points and six rebounds before fouling out. Sergio Gonzales and Travis Vasquez led Deer Valley with 15 each.
Coach Travis Stedman said, “They are a competitive basketball team. They do a lot of good stuff. At one point it was a one point game, and all of a sudden they knock down three threes and that puts them up ten. That was kind of the nail in the coffin. Obviously our expectations this year are over, but are much higher than this.”
Next year will once again look very promising for Prescott Badger basketball as only two seniors will move on.
DEER VALLEY SKYHAWKS 64, PRESCOTT BADGERS 50
PRESCOTT (50) Magnett 2 2-2 8, Tenette 5 11-13 23, Gaul 3 4-5 11, Fundalewicz 0 0-0 0, Peoples 0 0-2 0, Lyon 2 0-0 6, Bernardo 1 0-0 2, Diener 0 0-0 0, Contreras 0 0-0 0. 13 17-22 50.
DEER VALLEY (64) Se. Gonzales 5 4-4 15, Vasquez 5 1-2 15, T. Johnson 3 1-2 9, Ajawin 2 4-6 9, Wenk 0 0-0 0, Si. Gonzales 2 2-4 6, Simpson 1 2-2 4, A. Johnson 0 0-2 0, Guttenberger 2 1-2 6. 20 15-24 64.
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Prescott 14 13 12 11 – 50
Deer Valley 13 18 13 20 – 64
Total Fouls-P 23, DV 21
Fouled Out-Gaul
Three Point Baskets-P (7)-Magnett 2, Tenette 2, Lyon 2, Gaul 1. DV(9)-Vasquez 4, T. Johnson 2, Guttenberger 1, Ajawin 1, Se. Gonzales 1.
PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD-BOYS
4A Division
ALA-Gilbert North 56, Cactus 44
Deer Valley 64, Prescott 50
Mesquite 67, Thunderbird 61
Sahuaro 60, Dysart 57
5A Division
Canyon View 75, Willow Canyon 70
Casteel 60, Apollo 46
Higley 69, Chaparral 48
Ironwood 74, Cactus Shadows 45
6A Division
Boulder Creek 82, Mesa 64
Liberty 73, Cesar Chavez 55
Pinnacle 62, Dobson 34
Sandra Day O’Connor 75, Highland 61
Open Division
Basha 78, Desert Mountain 68
Millennium 56, Sunnyslope 50
Notre Dame Prep 85, St. Mary’s 72
Perry 75, Brophy Prep 58
3A CHAMPIONSHIP
Valley Christian 81, Gilbert Christian 65
2A CHAMPIONSHIP
San Tan Charter 69, Rancho Solano Prep 54
Prescott Team Wins State Boys Basketball Title
The Trinity Christian Warriors won the CAA (Canyon Athletic Association) State Championship with a 55-43 win over the Tri-City Christian Academy. Warriors played at Cactus High School.
A pair of freshmen led Tri-City Prep. Fulvio Dos Santos scored 19 points with six rebounds, and Jeremiah Randall scored 12.
Trinity Christian, seeded in the top spot of the 32 team tournament closed out the season with 10 straight wins and finishes with a (21-5) record. Tri-City Prep of Chandler finished at (18-3).
4A Girls Basketball Playoffs
The Prescott Lady Badgers ended their season up north with a 77-45 loss to the Flagstaff Eagles in round one of the 4A Division playoffs. Prescott ends their best season since the 2015-2016 at (17-9) while Flagstaff (21-4) moves on to host Flowing Wells in the quarterfinal round.
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