Photo courtesy of Jan Bracciale
The Trinity Christian Warriors have won the Canyon Athletic Association (CAA) Division II Boys Basketball State Championship. The Warriors have now won three basketball championships since they began in 2012.
Connor Wallace scored 25 points to lead the Warriors to a 52-36 win over the Southwest Leadership Academy Rams at Arizona State University Desert Financial Arena.
The two teams had met just 10 days ago when the Warriors beat the Rams 59-51 in Phoenix. This one started out to be a real battle. The Warriors found themselves trailing after the first quarter by two 13-11.
The Rams caught the turnover bug and the Warriors took advantage in the second quarter. Wallace had a breakaway layup and then Chun with a rejection led to a fast break basket by Tate Dykstra as Trinity Christian led 24-17 at the half.
Wallace took over to start the second half with three straight buckets to push the lead to 30-17. Much like the second quarter, the Rams struggled with the protecting the ball.
Taking advantage of a slow return to the court after a timeout by the Rams, Dylan Furrer fired a pass from the side court to Zeek Chun under the basket for an easy two.
By the time the dust settled in the third quarter, the Trinity Christian had a commanding 40-21 lead.
Wallace put an exclamation on the night with a driving slam dunk, giving the Warriors their largest lead 48-23, with just over five minutes remaining.
The Rams found some offense in the final minutes but far too little to late to make a difference in the game, but in the final score.
Southwest Leadership Academy ended their season (15-5). Trinity Christian won their final eight games to finish their championship season at (18-4).
Championship
TRINITY CHRISTIAN WARRIORS 52, SOUTHWEST LEADERSHIP ACADEMY RAMS 36
SOUTHWEST LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (36)-Jones 4 0-0 9, Gipson 3 1-2 9, Conway 2 0-2 5, Conway 3 0-0 6, Navarette 2 0-2 4, Garcia 0 1-2 1, Madrid 0 0-0 0, Pulido 0 0-0 0, Aguilar 1 0-0 2, Thompson 0 0-0 0. 15 2-8 36.
TRINITY CHRISTIAN (52)-Downing 1 2-4 4, Furrer 3 0-0 7, Dykstra 1 1-1 3, Wallace 11 2-4 25, Chun 3 1-1 7, Frausto 2 0-0 4, Lecaze 0 0-0 0,Wright 0 0-0 0, Sharp 0 0-0 0, Matock 0 0-0 0, Hurtt 0 0-0 0, Kleinjan 0 2-2 2. 21 8-13 52
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Southwest Leadership 13 4 4 15 – 36
Trinity Christian 11 13 16 12 – 52
Fouled Out-Gipson
Total Fouls- SLA 14, TC 10
Three Pointers- SLA (4)-Gipson 2, Jones 1, Conway 1. TC (2)-Furrer 1, Wallace 1.
In the semifinal matchup, Dylan Furrer had a big night propelling Trinity Christian into the championship game.
Furrer scored 29 points in the 69-51 win over the Ridgeview Academy Lions.
Two other Warriors ended in double figures with Connor Wallace scoring 15 and Zeek Chun adding 14. The three players combined for 58 of the 69 points.
Semifinals
TRINITY CHRISTIAN WARRIORS 69, RIDGEVIEW ACADEMY LIONS 51
RIDGEVIEW ACADEMY (51)-Hosler 8 2-3 20, Avacedo 2 0-0 5, Gryamfi 5 2-2 13, St. Sauvnor 0 1-2 1, White 1 2-6 4, Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Villa 3 0-0 8. 19 7-13 51.
TRINITY CHRISTIAN (69)-Lecaze 1 1-2 3, Furrer 10 5-7 29, Dykstra 0 0-0 0, Wallace 6 2-2 15, Chun 5 4-6 14, Fraust 1 0-0 2, Feddema 0 1-2 1, Downing 2 1-4 5. 25 14-23 69.
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Ridgeview 14 10 12 15 – 51
Trinity Christian 24 14 13 18 – 69
Fouled Out-Avacedo
Total Fouls- R 21, TC 19
Three Pointers- R (4) Hosler 2, Avacedo 1,Gryamfi 1. TC (5)-Furrer 4, Wallace 1.
