Palo Verde holds on to beat Ben Franklin

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday Jan 17th I attended the match-up of 3A <strong>#3 Ben Franklin Chargers</strong> hosting the 3A <strong>#2 Palo Verde Titans</strong>. Both teams will be in the OPEN for the Copper Division and both are capable of a deep playoff run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I checked out the Varsity game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Here were the standouts on the night&nbsp;</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All the stats are unofficial.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Varsity Game (53-42 Palo Verde won)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2134454' first='Kameron' last='Pippen'] Palo Verde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pure point guard had some impressive passes but he was scoring more in this game. He had some up the court ropes, drive and kicks and throws the lob pass perfectly. He scored with downhill takes thru contact with either hand or earns trips to the FT line. He had a couple weight room layups bullying his opponents and plays with toughness. He scored 17 points with multiple assists and steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2396141' first='Kamaiu' last='Ortiz'] Palo Verde&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A cerebral combo guard is skilled with a high feel for the game. He understands how to change speeds to get to the basket. He will also cut off the ball and his shooting stroke is looking better. He smartly moves without the ball and rebounds well in his area. He scored 10 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2396146' first='Ethan' last='Graves'] Palo Verde&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long and tall power forward who moves well from end to end. He has that rare size and will gobble up rebounds using his massive wingspan. He did not score a field goal but his sheer presence alone was definitely felt&nbsp; He scored 1 points with 7 rebounds with 1 block.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2396138' first='Rashad' last='Ortiz'] Palo Verde&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic guard can defend multiple positions and score with threes off the catch, off balanced shots in the lane, step thrus, mid-range pull-ups and rebounds well with his next level bounce. His length bothers his opponents to collect steals or get deflections. He scored 14 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2396139' first='Kristian' last='White'] Palo Verde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another athlete on their team seems to play the four spot but will slide over to the one or two. He scores it with dribble drives to the basket with contact using his frame and toughness. He likes to go baseline and make contested layups plus will dunk it. He rebounds well in his area and he is the glue guy of the team. He scored 11 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249646' first='Talan' last='Speir'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic combo guard was looking to score in this game. He will hit the three off the catch, he will euro step, rip thrus to the basket, mid-range jumpers and tough takes in traffic using his football frame. He will rebound and block shots. He scored 16 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2533653' first='Bennett' last='Christensen'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pure point guard had multiple needle threaders with pocket passes in stride to his teammates. He will also score with pull-up or catch threes, cuts off the ball and sharp ball fakes to the basket. He has quick hands on defense to collect steals and rebounds well. He scored 10 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2333014' first='Brody' last='Hansen'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A wing forward who brings some grit to the team. He will score with offensive rebound put backs and grabs rebounds consistently out of his area to keep possessions alive. He is a sneaky good passer and scored 2 points with 6 rebounds.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3217668' first='Nolan' last='Lot'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An undersized scoring guard who is a good defender. He keeps his opponents in front of him and will collect steals and even block shots. He will score with threes off the catch and tough layups. He scored 5 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2883785' first='Ethan' last='Sang'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long wing forward will rebound, defend multiple positions and score it. He cuts off the ball for layups in traffic with his very long strides. He scored 4 points and shows you flashes of what he can be in the future. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->