The Maricopa High School Rams basketball team won the Bear Down tournament in Coolidge. (MHS photo)

The Maricopa High School boys’ basketball team won the “Bear Down Shoot Out” holiday tournament in Coolidge with four straight victories earlier this week.

Their record now stands at 10-6.

“We played a really good stretch of four games over the two days and I am extremely proud of how far the team has come in the last couple of weeks,” head coach Jake Neill said. “One area that we have been lacking in is consistency. We have been up and down all year long from game to game and even from quarter to quarter so it was great to see us go out and perform at the level that we are capable of performing for four straight games”

The tournament started well for Maricopa on Monday morning as they took down the much smaller Arizona Interscholastic Association Division V challenger Antelope Union High School Rams, 88-53. Maricopa controlled the game from the tip-off and was led by excellent guard play. Seniors Johnny Johnson Jr. and Jalen Lee combined for 40 points, and sophomore guard Josh Johnson led the team with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

The Rams followed up their dominant victory with a barn burner against AIA Division III contender Empire High School out of Tucson Monday night. The Ravens gave Maricopa all they had, but the Rams pulled off an 82-74 victory in overtime.

The trio of Johnson, Johnson and Lee once again controlled the game as they scored 74 of the team’s 82 points. Johnny Johnson Jr. led Maricopa with 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but Josh Johnson added 24 points of his own, and Lee scored 19.

The victory moved the Rams forward into the semi-finals Tuesday morning where they faced off with Division V power Santa Cruz Valley High School (Eloy). The game started out close, but Maricopa was able to pull away in the second half. A stellar defensive effort helped the Rams claim a 78-53 victory.

Johnny Johnson Jr. scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the victory, but fellow guards Josh Johnson and Jalen Lee reached double digits in scoring for the third straight game as well.

The Rams waited to face the winner of Empire and Santa Cruz Valley in the finale of the consolation bracket. The Dust Devils exploded for 92 points to set the rematch with Maricopa Tuesday night.

The dominant defense that helped Maricopa beat Santa Cruz earlier in the day remained. The Rams controlled the championship game from start to finish and walked away with a 91-47 victory.

Josh Johnson led the team with 20 points and seven assists in the championship game, but four other members of the Rams’ team reached double digits in scoring to round out a balanced performance.

Johnny Johnson Jr. and Josh Johnson were named to the All-Tournament team.

“The guys are really starting to come together and you can see it in the play offensively and defensively,” Neill said. “I am really looking forward to the second half of the season and trying to make a run at qualifying for the section tournament and state tournament. We have a lot of really tough match ups where, if we play like we played in this tournament, we are going to be an exciting team to watch.”

The Rams will return to action at home on Jan. 5 against Youngker High School (Buckeye) at 7 p.m.

Adam Wolfe
Adam Wolfe
http://inmaricopa.com
Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams. Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams. Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams.
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