Highland Prep/Pima 2A Championship

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On February 25th The <strong>Pima Roughriders </strong>took on the Surprise <strong>Highland Prep Honey Badgers </strong>with the Boys Basketball 2A title on the line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game started out being a slow physical contest between both teams. Pima jumped out to a 6-2 lead but Highland tried to counter the height difference by playing scrappy hard nosed defense. At the end of the first quarter Pima held a 8-5 lead. Highland tied it up at 8 with a three pointer early in the 2nd quarter. It was 13-10 as both teams continued to try to find their way offensively. Pima continued to get second and third chances offensively with their size advantage. You could see the physical advantage with many of the kids on Pima's team having played for the football team as well. With Pima up 14-12, Highland switched to a zone to hopefully get different results and maybe help spark the offense. This was also due in part to the fact that star player [player_tooltip player_id='1336434' first='Presley' last='Ibeh'] had picked up his third personal foul and had to sit out the rest of the first half. Pima went into halftime with a 17-14 lead. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the third quarter the Honey Badgers began trapping the ball once it crossed half court in an effort to speed up the tempo of the game. Behind the scrappy play of [player_tooltip player_id='1336436' first='Kohen' last='Hill'] the score was tied at 19. Pima's size continued to wear down Highland as they went on a 7-0 run to get a 26-19 lead. This was helped by the fact that Ibeh had picked up his fourth foul. A three pointer by Hill cut the lead to 26-22 near the end of the third quarter. Heading into the fourth quarter Pima had a 26-22 lead. In the fourth quarter Highland Prep got as close as 8 but the experience of the Roughriders would not let them be denied of the title. The final score was <strong>47-37</strong> with Pima earning the 2A title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Here are some of the standouts from the championship game. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1817694' first='Grant' last='Ashby'] <strong>Pima</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior guard ran the show very well for Pima. A solid ball handler who is good in the open court and showed a good feel for the game. He showed a good burst of speed from end to end for a player his size. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1336436' first='Kohen' last='Hill'] <strong>Highland Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lead guard showed toughness and wouldn't let his team go away without a fight. A good defender who constantly pressured the ball and made his man uncomfortable. Hill has a quick release with range out to the three point line. Good distributor who makes smart decisions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1817738' first='Garrett' last='Curtis'] <strong>Pima</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big guy showed a surprisingly soft touch for someone his size. He even showed that his range stretches out to the three point line. A very good rebounder as he is a space eater and makes it difficult for anyone near him to get rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1336434' first='Presley' last='Ibeh'] <strong>Highland Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An impressive athlete who is equally effective off the dribble as well. Ibeh was hampered by foul trouble the entire game so it also limited his affect on the game. He gets very good elevation on his jumper and is hard to contain when he gets going. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1817737' first='Pierce' last='Ashby'] <strong>Pima</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ashby didn't shoot well in this outing but he still stuffed the stat sheet. He blocked numerous shots with good timing and instincts. He was given pump fakes repeatedly but stayed solid in waiting for the shooter to leave the floor. A solid rebounder he kept the ball high and away from smaller defenders. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1494765' first='Tarrell' last='Green Jr'] <strong>Highland Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The freshman made his mark on the defensive end as he fought hard with the opposing upperclassmen. He is very active and crashed the boards very well. He also displayed very active hands collecting mulptiple steals and deflections. A bouncy athlete he will only get better as his body starts to fill out. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->