By Don Ketchum

The boys’ basketball team from Phoenix Pinnacle is full of youth, and the Pioneers only figure to get better.

That is bad news for the teams in the Class 5A Desert Valley Region and the teams in 5A Division II.

The Pioneers won for the 16^th time in 18 games on Tuesday night (Jan. 18), 59-49, over visiting Scottsdale Desert Mountain, using hot shooting from three-point range and solid defense.

Pinnacle connected on 10 three-pointers, four by junior guard Chris Klima, who scored 19 points. Junior Kevin Bowman had a pair of treys and finished with 12 points.

Pinnacle’s defense, meanwhile, held Desert Mountain (12-6) to a combined 19 points through the middle two quarters, and kept the Wolves off the board for the first 3:44 of the fourth quarter when they were trying to get back into the game.

Peter Smith led Desert Mountain with 15 points and Connor Johnson had 10.

Pinnacle’s long-range accuracy was a key in the first half when it hit three treys.

Was that by design, or was that due in part to what the defense gave the Pioneers?

“They (Desert Mountain) give that to you sometimes. They like to pack it (defense) in,’’ said Pinnacle coach Charlie Wilde.

“We would like to pass the ball around and get the best shot we can, but if we need to shoot the three, we can. We have enough guys who can shoot it, maybe six people deep. That’s a good thing to have.’’

Pinnacle has just two seniors on the roster, so the underclassmen have to learn on the job.

“The thing about young players is that they are going to make mistakes sometimes, but these guys are good in that they are able to adjust quickly,’’ Wilde said. “They are all very intelligent about the game. And they communicate well out on the floor.’’

It is essential to keep the mistakes at a minimum, particularly in a region such as the Desert Valley, considered by many to be one of the best in the state with Scottsdale Chaparral, Phoenix Horizon, Phoenix North Canyon and Phoenix St. Mary’s in addition to Pinnacle and Desert Mountain.

“This win was huge for us,’’ Wilde said. “Our region is so tough. They’re all going to be the same type of games, back and forth, good defense, with all of that intensity.’’