By Don Ketchum

Red, white and bruise.

Those were the colors of Mesa Mountain View on Friday night (March 4).

Senior guard Mark Mazzucco and his Toros teammates won the Class 5A Division I championship by working together with an All-American work ethic.

With 3:47 left in the game, he had to be helped to the bench after his right knee gave way, but he was back 20 seconds later. He hit the floor several more times in the closing minutes, but got back up each time.

He hit five points down the stretch and his assist created the defining basket on a jam by Cam Boone with 2:20 left as the Toros defeated Phoenix Brophy Prep 50-29 at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.

It was the seventh title since 1995 for the program under the leadership of coach Gary Ernst. The Toros finished 27-3.

Boone scored 12 points and Mazzucco 11 to lead the way.

“I had to play through it because it was my last game,’’ Mazzucco said. “It swelled up and I can’t really bend it, but we won and that’s what matters.’’

Mountain View stepped up its defense the last few weeks, and it paid off against Brophy (21-8).

The Broncos, who did everything they wanted in a 96-82 win over Mesa High in Thursday night’s semifinals, couldn’t do much of anything this time. It was the exact opposite.

Brophy scored just three points in the second quarter and trailed 25-13 at halftime. The Broncos scored just 16 second-half points.

“It helped for us to get that (halftime) cushion,’’ Ernst said. “That made it just a 16-minute game instead of 32.’’

Boone was a defensive force inside and on the glass. He had 10 rebounds as Mountain View had a 33-23 advantage.

Ernst always stresses fundamentals and it is a key factor to the team’s success, according to Mazzucco.

“We just stick to basics,’’ he said.

James Harper led Brophy with 11 points.