The Millennium Tigers had one goal entering Section 7’s Boys Weekend at Arizona Athletic Grounds:

Winning a second consecutive bracket championship.

They did exactly that Sunday morning in the Cache AI final against Owyhee (Idaho), prevailing 68-63 in a battle that could’ve gone either way.

The pivotal point occurred with less than two minutes remaining, when Millennium's Adan Diggs drilled a shot from the corner to put his team up by four. It was the beginning of the end for Owyhee, draining any momentum the Storm had left.

“I was just able to keep my composure,” Diggs said.

“It got very scary. The other team made some big shots toward the end of the stretch, but I just trusted myself to make that shot, and we pulled through.”

Millennium added some major help around the versatile Cameron Holmes this offseason: Diggs, a sophomore star from Williams Field, and DJ Spencer, who filled the Tigers’ low post need perfectly.

The trio was unstoppable in the finals, accounting for 64 of the team’s 68 points (Holmes with 26, Diggs 22 and Spencer 16).

“We have the two best players in Arizona,” said Millennium head coach Ty Amundsen.

“There are great players all around the state, but having Adan and Cam, coupled with good rotation players like DJ and everyone else, it’s pretty special. We’re blessed to have a good team.”

Owyhee’s top scorer was Logan Haustveit, who finished with 27 points and maintained deadly accuracy throughout. Canaan Magness added another 11, and Jordan Allen had eight.

The Storm led for the majority of the first half before it started clicking for Millennium. The Tigers tied the score 26-26 with three minutes to go in the first period, and Owyhee never saw the lead again.

“Overall, our size and our athleticism really took over the game at the end,” Amundsen said.

“We really didn’t call a play the last three minutes of the game, just kind of had Adan and Cam take over, and that’s what they did.”

Shortly after, West Point and The Branson School (Calif.) met in the ABCA bracket final.

Branson came out swinging. The Bulls wasted no time securing an early 11-2 lead, and West Point was left scrambling.

The first period was riddled with misses and mistakes from the Dragons. Branson made sure to capitalize and led by 20 (32-12) at the half.

West Point’s offense looked significantly better in the second period, but it was already too late. The Bulls cruised through the rest of the game and won it 65-42.

“We just really didn’t play our game,” West Point head coach Ryan Nelson said.

“I think we got caught up in all the bright lights and we didn’t play together as a team like we’ve been doing. Once you go on that national level it’s different. It was a great measuring stick for us to see where we’re at.”

The primary piece of Branson's offense was NJ Gray, who played with an effortless confidence while scoring a game-high 20 points.

On the other side, Kristian Davis spearheaded the Dragons’ offensive resurgence, tallying all 12 of his points in the second half. Edgar Hardwick scored 10, half of which came during the team’s first period drought.

“Defensively, we got after it,” Branson head coach Demetrius Roquemore said. “We rebounded a bit.

“I think they (West Point) struggled early against the zone and that kind of threw them out of what they were trying to do. It also helps to have three or four guards that can do a little bit of everything.”

West Point lost, but Hardwick believes the group learned a lot about themselves over the weekend.

“We learned this weekend that we can be great,” Hardwick said.

“We can beat some top teams. Our team’s got unlimited potential, and I really don’t think anybody can stop us when we’re at our best.”