Higley edges Rams in overtime thriller

In a boys basketball home opener packed with drama and intensity, the Maricopa Rams lost a 61-58 heartbreaker in overtime to visiting Gilbert Higley.

Dmitri Jones swished a 12-foot jump shot from the right baseline with 37 seconds remaining in the extra period to put Higley ahead to stay at 59-57.

After the Rams made one free throw and the Knights converted two during the ensuing 28 seconds, Maricopa got the ball back for a final shot, trailing by three points with nine seconds left.

Following a timeout to set up a play with 6.5 seconds remaining, the Rams passed the ball to leading scorer Justin Warren, whose three-point shot attempt from the right corner bounced around and off the rim as time expired.

“It was an exciting game,” Maricopa coach Andy Branchik said. “That was high school basketball right there.”

Branchik was encouraged by the tenacity exhibited by the Rams throughout the back-and-forth contest that was the first game in Class 4A-II East Sky Region competition for both teams.

“I thought our kids played hard,” Branchik said. “There’s no doubt about that. These kids are learning. I think that was a great experience for them. Kids fouled out. Things weren’t going their way. The ball wasn’t bouncing their way. A lot of things were unorthodox today, but they fought through it.”

Warren led the Rams (2-2) with 20 points, while Tyler Carlson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Marcus Lowe added eight points for Maricopa, and K.J. Diehl finished with six.
Jones scored 24 points to lead Higley, which also got eight points each from Kelvin Fisher and Kyle Gomez.

“Higley is a good basketball team, a lot different than what we saw last year,” Maricopa co-coach Charles Litt said about the Knights, whom the Rams defeated twice last season.
Both teams struggled at the free-throw line, as Higley made 17 of 30 foul shots and Maricopa converted 11 of 22.

“We try to stress to the kids that it doesn’t just come down to late in the game making the free throws,” Branchik said. “It comes down to the entire game making their free throws, doing all of those little things.”

After the Rams scored the final eight points of the second quarter to take a 22-14 halftime lead, Higley ended the third quarter on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 37-37, setting the stage for the dramatic conclusion.

Neither team led by more than three points during a fourth quarter that featured seven lead changes and two tie scores.

A three-pointer from the top of the key by Carlson gave Maricopa a 40-39 lead with 7:12 remaining, but Higley answered with a drive to the basket by Jones.

After a fastbreak layup by Warren put the Rams ahead 42-41, Higley’s Turner Beall scored four consecutive points on a putback and 14-foot jumper.

Warren swished a three-pointer from the left corner to give the Rams a 49-48 lead with 1:47 remaining in regulation, and he made 2 of 4 free throws over the ensuing 30 seconds to extend the Maricopa advantage to 51-48.

After the Knights tied it at 51-51 on a baseline drive by Jones with 40 seconds left, the Rams scored eight seconds later on a layup by Lowe.

A layup by Higley’s Ryan Barnes tied the score at 53-53 with 13 seconds left. Barnes was fouled on the play, but he missed the ensuing free throw.

Each team missed two foul shots during the final 11 seconds of regulation, when Higley’s Fisher and Maricopa’s Diehl had free-throw opportunities.

Diehl gave the Rams a 55-53 lead with a drive to the basket in the opening minute of overtime. Fernando Estrada then converted a layup with 1:49 left in the extra period to extend Maricopa’s advantage to 57-53.

Higley closed out the game with an 8-1 run that began with a layup by Jones and two tying free throws by Fisher. Jones’ 12-footer from the right baseline put the Knights ahead to stay at 59-57 with 37 seconds remaining.

Mesa Skyline Invitational

Maricopa won two of three games last week in the season-opening Mesa Skyline Invitational.

After beginning the tournament with a 67-57 loss against host Skyline, the Rams defeated Apache Junction 56-48 and posted a 75-62 victory over Buckeye Verrado.

The Rams closed out the game against Verrado with a 22-7 scoring run, pulling ahead to stay at 58-55 on a three-pointer by Warren with 6:18 remaining.

Warren led the Rams with 20 points in the game against Verrado, while Travis Brown finished with 16.