Brophy College Prep/Highland 6A Championship Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the battle of the big schools it was the <strong>Gilbert Highland Hawks</strong> taking on the <strong>Phoenix College Preporatory Broncos</strong> for the 6A boys title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At the onset of the game the very first possession was a steal and breakaway dunk for Highland. Brophy answers immediately with a three pointer. Brophy builds a 13-9 lead with a little more than one minute left in the first quarter. A Highland three at the buzzer cuts the lead to 16-12. The Hawks go on a 9-0 run to grab a 21-16 lead. The physicality of Highland began wearing on Brophy. Highland had a 23-21 lead with a little more than two minutes to go in the half. A put back by [player_tooltip player_id='1165972' first='Noah' last='Peterson'] right before the half gives the Hawks a 28-26 lead going into halftime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third quarter was back and forth with Brophy holding a slight advantage 44-42 heading into the fourth. The fourth quarter was much of the same. Neither team held a lead of more than two points in the fourth quarter. Highland tied it up at 52 with a minute and a half left in the game. With the ball and 22 seconds left, Highland got fouled with 3.8 seconds left. The Hawks missed the front end of the one and one sending the game to overtime. With 3:15 left in overtime and the lead 56-52 Highland seems to be getting control of the game. It didn't help that now senior leader [player_tooltip player_id='831117' first='Arman' last='Madi'] has now fouled out. A big three by Brophy gets them within one. With the game approaching two minutes left the score is tied at 56. Both teams miss shots towards the end sending the game to a second overtime. In the second overtime Brophy continues to fight by getting a 61-59 lead with a little over a minute left. The score was 61-60 with 28 seconds left and Highland ball. Highland drew up a play to get Peterson a look but good defense by Brophy changed those plans. [player_tooltip player_id='1735858' first='Brock' last='Knollmiller'] went backdoor which sucked in the defense. This forced Knollmiller to kick it to the opposite corner where he found [player_tooltip player_id='1735857' first='Hayden' last='Winegar'] open for a three pointer. Hayden calmly knocked it down giving Highland the 6A Boys State Championship in what was probably the best game of the day at <strong>63-61</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Here we take a look at some of the standout players from this game. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1165972' first='Noah' last='Peterson'] <strong>Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior played one of his better games of the year. He score from all three levels. He shot from the perimeter and used his body to get in the lane and finish through contact. His toughness was unmatched as he collected a third of his teams rebounds. On the final play he showed his unselfishness as a passer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='996166' first='Braeden' last='Speed'] <strong>Brophy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough well built guard Speed was a load to handle. He uses his body as well as any guard in the state. This enabled him to get to pretty much any spot on the floor that he wanted to offensively. His handle is good and he makes smart decisions. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1735858' first='Brock' last='Knollmiller'] <strong>Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Athletic extraordinaire is the first thing that comes to mind when describing Knollmiller. He also has the motor to match his athletic ability. Offensively he knows how to feed off of others and get to spots where he can be effective. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1276753' first='Ayden' last='Madi'] <strong>Brophy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore guard came up big for the Broncos in their quest for the title. He shot it with extreme confidence and never seemed to get rattled. He was sneaky good on defense as he played the passing lanes well and timed some blocks a few times. He should make a big jump going into his junior season. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1735857' first='Hayden' last='Winegar'] <strong>Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior wing struggled from three but came up big with the final play of the game with his timely 3. Hayden contributed big in other areas. He contributed on the boards and on the defensive end as his length bothered the opposing teams offense. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1490239' first='Daylen' last='Sharper'] <strong>Brophy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The freshman guard played well including hitting a big three towards the end that gave his team a chance to pull out the victory. A strong lead guard Sharper was hard to keep out of the paint and used his body well against defenders. He rebounded extremely well for his position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->