A disastrous third quarter was Maricopa’s undoing as the Rams’ boys basketball team fell to unbeaten Division I Phoenix Mountain Pointe, 67-29, at the MHS Gym Tuesday night.
Despite a rash of turnovers caused by the ninth-ranked Pride’s zone press, Maricopa trailed by just 10 at halftime, 27-17, and appeared in contention.
The Rams, now 4-5 on the season, even scored first in the third quarter, on a short jump shot by Marcus Lowe, to cut the deficit to just eight points, but then the bottom fell out.
“Coming out of halftime I was like, all right, here we go,” MHS head coach Andy Branchik said. “We made the adjustments. Stay out of the corners, get the ball in the middle and take care of the ball.”
Of Lowe’s opening basket, Branchik said, “We fed the post and Marcus had a nice little post move on that.” However, that was about all the Rams did right in the third period as Mountain Pointe (5-0) outscored them 25-4 to end any thoughts of an MHS upset.
High-scoring junior Khari Holloway scored the Pride’s first seven points of the period as MPHS limited Maricopa to just two free throws in the entire quarter, after Lowe’s opening bucket, with a swarming defense that had the Rams in trouble much of the game.“We’re doing things that are hurting us more than the other team is hurting us,” Branchik said. “And it is things that we can correct. I still believe that this is a good basketball team. They just have to believe in themselves.”
An early run by the Pride put Maricopa in a small hole in the first half. Leading 12-9, Mountain Pointe went on a 12-2 tear to build its margin to 24-11 near the end of the first half. But a three-pointer by Nick Samuels, a free throw by Lowe and a basket by DeVaughn Elledge with five seconds remaining got MHS back to within ten. Then, the third quarter ended all hopes.
Elledge led the way with 11 points, while Lowe added eight and Nick Webber came off the bench to contribute six.
Holloway finished with 21 points to pace the Pride, while Fareed Mateen added 12.
The Rams face their longest break of the year. They don’t play again until they host the eight-team ’Copa Hoops Holiday Classic Dec. 29-30.
