Broncos win 1st ever State Championship

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday, March 8th I attended the 6A Chip with the #5 seed&nbsp;<strong>Brophy Prep Broncos</strong>&nbsp;taking on the #11&nbsp;<strong>Mesa Jackrabbits</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams came in scorching hot with big wins versus the top-2 rated teams with #1 Highland and #2 Liberty. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mesa jumped out on Brophy Prep quickly with a 23-16 1st quarter lead with the sensational play of [player_tooltip player_id='1651788' first='Jakyi' last='Miles'] along with [player_tooltip player_id='2146269' first='Daijon' last='Grayson']. The 2nd quarter started turning the tide for the Broncos keying in and some match-ups and strong play from [player_tooltip player_id='1490239' first='Daylen' last='Sharper']. Mesa led 34-32 at halftime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Matt Hooten made a nice adjustment and put a little more size on the stellar freshman with [player_tooltip player_id='1381426' first='Luke' last='Wieskamp'] and it was a 16-9 quarter favor for the Broncos with two huge 3's by [player_tooltip player_id='1276753' first='Ayden' last='Madi'] followed by a 14-6 defensive shut down by the Broncos with team defense to win <strong>62-49</strong>. Mesa only scored 26 points after their near perfect 1st quarter of 23. [player_tooltip player_id='2337274' first='Brig' last='Bowden'] had a good second half but their guards were stopped by the older guards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mesa will definitely be back with only 1 senior in their top-6. <br>The 2025 Brophy class along with Sharper earned the Broncos their 1st ever ring! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the Standouts</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1490239' first='Daylen' last='Sharper'] Brophy Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the standouts of the game will facilitate and score. He will put points on the board with strong downhill takes with his left or right hand, he has a nice mid-range J and scores with offensive rebound put backs. He has a super tight handle but also changes speeds. He is a physical on-ball defender and will block shots. He scored 18 points 5 rebounds 4 assists and 1 block.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1381426' first='Luke' last='Wieskamp'] Brophy Prep&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high level easy athlete is a combo forward who plays both positions up front. He can hit the three off the catch with a high arcing release. He will score with driving layups and utilizes the floater game. He uses his springs to rebound and block shots. He scored 15 points with 3 important blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1286023' first='Ryan' last='Burbach'] Brophy Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A known three point shooter will hit the catch three but he has improved other parts of his game as he has aged. He will score with driving layups with either hand and on put backs. His defense has picked it up with rebounding and making it more difficult to score on him. He finished with 11 points 8 rebounds 3 assists 1 block and 2 steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1276753' first='Ayden' last='Madi'] Brophy Prep&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the better story lines of the season was Madi. Missed all last year with an injury and slowly got better as the season went on rounding into tip-top shape. He hit two clutch threes back to back to give the Broncos some much needed separation from the Jackrabbits and he also scores with driving layups and put backs. He scored 12 points with 6 rebounds 3 assists and 1 steal. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2806263' first='Xander' last='Koehler'] Brophy Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong power forward is a newcomer for me. He is very tough inside with his interior rebounding and defender. He will also defend guards with good fluidity on the perimeter.&nbsp; He scores with put backs on the glass thru the contact.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1651788' first='Jakyi' last='Miles'] Mesa </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top freshmen lead guards in the state had an almost flawless first half. He scored with mid-range fall aways over the outstretched arms of the defenders multiple times. He is so calm and poised and can needle thread it to his teammates when needed. He will also use his size to get to the paint and will rebound and block shots. He scored 14 points to lead Mesa plus 5 rebounds 2 assists 1 block and 1 steal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2337274' first='Brig' last='Bowden'] Mesa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest player on the floor played like it. He gobbled up rebounds and scored with put backs. multiple drop steps into layups and he is moving well up the court from end to end. He is in the passing lanes to collect steals and scored 11 points 9 rebounds 1 steal and 1 block. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2146269' first='Daijon' last='Grayson'] Mesa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick on quick scoring point guard. He will score with driving layups and his downhill play keeps getting better plus he has the body control to score around the traffic. He will hit the catch three and then score it with a tough reverse layups in traffic. He will drive and kick it and he is a pest on the ball defensively. He scored 13 points with 3 rebounds 2 assists and 1 steal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2457857' first='Jarren' last='Galarza'] Mesa </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A scoring combo guard will put up points with deceptive quick bursts to the basket and hit the catch three. He can handle the contact in the paint to score or earn it from the free throw line. He scored 7 points with 3 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->