1A hoops finals: NFL Yet wins 1st title
February 26, 2017 by Game Previews, AZPreps365
By Jason Stone
PRESCOTT VALLEY — In its first season of play last year, NFL Yet entered the 1A boys basketball state tournament admittedly nervous. It resulted in the team’s elimination in the semifinals.
But coach Humberto Ramirez said his team was ready for this year’s tournament, and it paid off in the school’s first state championship on Saturday.
“We are a year older,” Ramirez said after the Eagles beat The Gregory School 75-50 at the Prescott Valley Events Center. “And sometimes you get lucky.”
It was more talent than luck in the finals as NFL Yet scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back.
Six-foot-four sophomore forward Shekeedren Bryant led all scorers with 21 points, including two dunks in the second half as NFL Yet (30-2) turned a close game early into a rout.
“It feels amazing,” said freshman guard Tyraill Carrethers, who scored 19 points for the Eagles. “We came out and worked so hard and put our foot down.”
Gregory School (29-2) tried to keep it close in the first half. Senior guard Nick Rosquist hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, cutting the deficit to only one point.
In fact, the Hawks trailed by only six as last as midway through the second quarter, but six straight points for NFL Yet before halftime gave it the momentum going into the break.
In the second half, NFL Yet ran plays to eat up clock, while Gregory School had multiple players foul out, negating any chance at a comeback.
“We just needed to be defensively sound,” Ramirez said. “And we were (in the state tournament.).”
Junior guard/forward Addison Mort led Gregory School with 20 points before fouling out.
Free throws were also a killer for Gregory School, which missed 13 of their last 16 free-throw attempts.
St. Micheals finally defeats Rock Point
PRESCOTT VALLEY — The first four times St. Michaels played Rock Point this year, the games were close, but St. Michaels lost them all.
But when they played for the one that meant the most in the 1A girls basketball state championship game on Saturday, St. Michaels came out on top. And this one wasn’t even close.
Dominating from the start, St. Michaels jumped out to a 19-3 lead in the first half and never looked back in winning 57-35 at the Prescott Valley Events Center.
It was the school’s first girls basketball state championship since 2004.
“We aren’t scared of anybody,” said freshman guard Ali Upshaw, who scored a game-high 22 points to help the Cardinals avenge the four losses earlier this year.
Rock Point found itself down by 30 in the fourth quarter before St. Michaels players began celebrating on the bench.
“We were focused and determined to win this as a family,” St. Michaels coach Carl Adams said.
St. Michaels came into the game 13-3 in its last 16 games with all three losses coming to Rock Point. The Cougars, meanwhile, were playing with a 15-game winning streak on the line. They led only once in the opening minutes of the game.
A 17-0 run for St. Michaels the rest of the first quarter and opening of the second quarter effectively ended the game.
Adams joked that he knew his team would come out to a fast start because the hotel the team stayed at served omelets, a breakfast choice that has given the team good luck this year.
“As soon as I saw they had omelets I knew it was going to be a good game,” Adams said. “We eat omelets and we have a good game.”
Rock Point had trouble stopping Upshaw and junior center Delila Nakaidinae (16 points) all game. Foul trouble also hurt the Cougars, who lost point guard Andrea Willeto to her fourth foul in the final seconds of the first half.
St. Michaels was also able to stop powerful senior forward Roan Tsosie, who finished with seven points. Crystanya Begay led Rock Point with 15 points.
