Higley rallies past Rams

After the Rams erased a six-point deficit in the third quarter and built a 37-35 lead, Higley scored the first 10 points of the fourth to take control at 45-37. The Knights then made 5 of 8 free throws during the final 1:03 to wrap up the win.

“In the fourth quarter, they kind of figured out our 1-3-1 zone that we were in,” Maricopa co-coach Charles Litt said. “They got some extra shots, some second shots. That kind of opened up the fourth quarter for them.”

The Rams had everything working in the third quarter, when they outscored Higley 19-11.

Justin Warren ignited the Maricopa surge by making two consecutive three-pointers from the left corner to tie the score at 26-26. Following a free throw by Higley’s Isaac Bailey and a layup by the Knights’ Kyle Gomez, the Rams pulled into a 29-29 deadlock when K.J. Diehl swished a triple from the top of the key.

Warren then split a pair of free throws to give the Rams a 30-29 lead. Maricopa maintained a 37-35 advantage at the end of the third quarter after getting a three-pointer from the right wing by Mike Stewart, a drive to the basket by Travis Brown and a putback at the buzzer by DeVaughn Elledge.

“That was the best third quarter we’ve played all season,” Maricopa coach Andy Branchik said. “I thought the kids played hard. I thought they moved the ball well. I thought they made a nice extra pass, and they knocked down their open jumpers.”

Following a layup by Dmitri Jones that tied the score for Higley at 37-37, the Knights went ahead to stay at 39-37 on a jump shot by Gomez with 6:11 remaining. Spencer Owens capped Higley’s 10-0, fourth-quarter run by converting a putback to give the Knights a 45-37 advantage with 3:11 left.

Gomez finished with a game-high 15 points for Higley (7-8 overall, 5-3 in the Class 4A-II East Sky Region).

Warren scored 14 points to lead the Rams (5-15, 0-8), who also got eight points from Brown and six from Diehl.