The Rams (19-9, 11-1 in the 2A West) traveled to northwest Phoenix Friday afternoon to take on the Eagles of Scottsdale Christian (18-11, 11-4 in the 2A Metro) in round one of the 2007 Arizona State Basketball Tournament.
Entering the state tournament as a number one seed, the Rams looked to make noise in the first round, but the Eagles of Scottsdale Christian had something else in mind. The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders and soared to a 62-43 victory.
The Eagles got on the board first when Bo Barnes drove to the hoop for a lay up. The Rams responded when Seville Slater found Uli Rojas in the corner for a three.
When Houston Friend popped a deep two from the top of the key, the Eagle offense caught fire as Barnes converted back-to-back to lay ups, drained a trey from the top of the key and knocked down a jumper from the wing, giving the Eagles a 13-3 lead.
The Eagle offense continued to soar when Friend drained a trey from the wing. The Ram offense finally came up for air when on the break Rojas bounced a pass to Slater across the lane for a lay up. Ram newcomer Cory Motley came off the bench and chipped in two down low, but at the end of the first quarter the Rams trailed 7-20.
In the second quarter Slater dished to Motley down low for two, but the Eagles came right back when Steven Boyce swished a three from the wing.
Motley grabbed the offensive rebound and showed a soft touch inside as he laid it up and in. With Motley in the game the Rams had a chance to control the paint. On the next Ram possession Rojas drained a three from the top of the key; the Rams trailed 14-25.
The Rams cut the double-digit lead when big man Motley came up with a steal, ran the break and found Clinton Teller for the lay up. Teller was fouled on the lay up, putting him at the line where converted the old fashioned, three-point play. The Rams trailed 18-27.
Hot Eagle shooting continued late into the second quarter when Derrick DeBenedetto knocked down a three from the corner, and Boyce converted on two attempts from the charity stripe. The Eagles led 32-18 at the half.
Maricopa’s Clinton Teller (#20) fires off a thre pointer in the first half against Scottsdale Christian last Friday night at Sunrise Mountain High School.
Ram Karlyle Stephens (#21) is fouled driving to the basket by a Scottsdale Christian defender last Friday in round one of the boys 2A State Tournament.
Ram point guard Rojas found Joe Zabawa down low for the kiss off the glass. Motley had a block that led to a fast break lay in by swingman Karlyle Stephens. The Rams trailed 22-32 with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter, but Rojas wasn’t done looking for his teammates as he found Slater in the lane for two.
Stephens fired a pass to Motley, who spun in the lane and showed a soft touch with the easy lay in. The Rams cut the lead to 34-26.
The Eagle offense took it off cruise control and floored it as Boyce popped a trey from the wing, and Barnes drove to the hoop for the lay in, giving the Eagles a 40-29 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Maricopa’s Seville Slater (#15) shoots from the charity stripe Friday night against Scottsdale Christian.
Cory Motley (#30) goes up strong down low in the second half against Scottsdale Christian Friday night. Motley chipped in 14 points for the Rams.
Eagle DeBenedetto had a put back down low and drained a three from the corner to open up the fourth quarter. Off the inbound pass Zabawa found Motley for the lay up. Next time down Motley followed up his own miss with a put back down low.
Ram guard Slater knocked down a fade away in the lane and drove strong to hoop for the lay in, but the Rams trailed 35-49. With time running out and the Rams getting frustrated due to inconsistent calls by the referees, forward Chris Miller was called for a technical foul when he hammered Eagle Hayden Johnson in the lane. Johnson converted on both attempts from the line, giving the Eagles a 55-39 lead.
The Eagles offense ate up the clock, sank clutch free throws and sailed to a 62-43 win.
Summary 1 2 3 4 Total
Maricopa 7 11 11 14 43
Scottsdale Christian 20 12 8 22 62
Cory Motley, who had 14 points, led the Rams scoring, followed by Seville Slater with 12, Uli Rojas with 6 and Clinton Teller with 3
Congratulations to the Rams (19-10, 11-1 in the 2A West) and Coach Rick Abel on a great season.
Photos by Jeremy Knop
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