Boulder Creek vs. Deer Valley, Mountain Ridge, Prescott

The Boulder Creek boys’ basketball team didn’t have much time to rest after a big win over O’Connor High School on January 12. District rival Deer Valley visited the Jaguars on Saturday, Jan. 14. Then the Jags traveled to Grand Canyon University to play Mountain Ridge on Monday, Jan. 16. It was back to Boulder Creek on Jan. 17 to play Prescott H.S. 3 games in four days presented quite a challenge for the team. Depth and player rotation had to be a primary concern for Coach Randy Walker and his staff.

Deer Valley came in the game with BC minus one of the best players in the State of Arizona, Tre Ogles. Typically you can expect a team to rally when presented with such a challenge and that’s exactly what the Jaguars got from DV. However, the Boulder Creek offense came out sharp in the first half scoring 40 points. Randyll Roberts and Johnnie Panfil took turns executing the man to man offense. Crisp ball movement and sharp shooting kept BC in the lead throughout the first half. Once again the defense, particularly boxing out after shots, was troublesome. Far too many second chance points allowed Deer Valley to hang with the Jags. At the half the Jaguars led 40-32.

Obviously Coach Walker had a discussion about defensive intensity at halftime. The Jags signature man to man defense and full court pressure resulted in a big third quarter run as Boulder Creek outscored Deer Valley 23-8. Connor Kuchar and Anthony Perri came off the bench to light a spark on both offense and defense. In the fourth quarter the Jags continued to play rock solid defense and cruised to a 78-54 victory.

Next was a MLK Holiday match up with Mountain Ridge High School at the spectacular new arena at Grand Canyon University. In the first game of the season vs. Mountain Ridge the Jags would grab an 8 point lead only to see a very pesky, determined Mountain Ridge team close the gap. The same type of game occurred this time around. Mountain Ridge played some of the best defense we have seen all year. Boulder Creek had a difficult time running the offense and the Jags couldn’t get their running game going. At one point in the first half the Jags had a 9 point lead, only to watch Mountain Ridge crash the offensive boards for second, third, and even fourth chance points. Connor Kuchar entered the game and provided solid minutes on both offense and defense. At 6’8” his intimidating presence in the middle is undeniable.

With 6.2 seconds to go and the Jaguars leading 50-47, the Mountain Lions set up to inbound the ball at half court. The discussion among the fans was “do you foul Mountain Ridge allowing them 2 free throws?” Even if they make both we could run the clock out. Weston Newell ended that speculation with a steal on the inbounds pass. Mountain Ridge then fouled Newell who made 1 of 2 FTS. The game ended with BC squeaking out a hard fought 51-47 victory.

On Tuesday, January 17, Prescott High School made the trip to Boulder Creek. From the start the Jags appeared to be the more talented, athletic team. However, Prescott played tough throughout the first quarter and trailed only by a point, 18-17. The Jaguars quickness and athleticism kicked in to high gear in the second quarter. Full court pressure resulted in numerous Prescott turnovers and BC scores. The Jags extended the second quarter lead to 44-25.

The third quarter proved to be one of the best quarters of basketball Boulder Creek has played all year. Everyone contributed to the party as the Jags outscored Prescott 31-8. All 12 players saw significant playing time and contributed. At the final buzzer the Jaguars won 85-36. Keep in mind that Prescott had 17 points at the end of the first quarter. BC allowed a mere 19 points for the final 3 quarters combined!! Scoring was about as balanced as it could get. Weston Newell led the way with 15 points. Josh Braun chipped in 14. Stephen Crim finished with 12 points. Randyll Roberts and Tyler Whiley scored 11 each.

A final important note. As I have written in the past month, the defensive effort and blocking out/rebounding has been suspect far too often. When this team focuses on those key areas they win and win by a substantial margin. Most common observers pay close attention to how many points each player has. It’s time for each and every Boulder Creek basketball fan to recognize and cheer for the guys that go out and give a 100% defensive and rebounding effort. Let’s show our guys how much we appreciate those stats that don’t get the headlines. That effort makes all the difference in the success of our team. Next up is Caesar Chavez. They are tough and rated among the top 5 teams in Division I in Arizona. This game will mean a lot in the Jags drive to succeed in the State Tournament. Defense and rebounding, giving no second offensive chances to Chavez. D Up!!!