Mesquite/Peoria Playoff Notes

On February 18th I watched a battle of 4A contenders battle it out for a spot in the Final Four. Here are some of my takeaways. [player_tooltip player_id="701246" first="Nathan" last="Calmese"] Mesquite (Featured image) The top scorer in 4A didn’t disappoint on Friday night. Nathan hit an array of shots on his way to a 37 point performance. He hit step back three’s, pull up jumpers, and attacked the rim at will. What shouldn’t be undervalued was his passing. While eyes were all on him he was handing out assists to cutting teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="814517" first="Cohen" last="J Gonzales"] Mesquite The junior point guard was quick off the dribble and handled the Peoria press most of the night. His low center of gravity makes it hard to steal the ball and add in a good handle and it was off to the races a lot of times for Cohen J. He had numerous breakaway layups finishing with 20 points to go along with 6 assists and 3 steals. Kayson Bryant F 6’3 2022 Mesquite The senior forward was the recipient of dimes being dropped by Calmese and Gonzales. Kayson finished with 18 points and a game high 11 rebounds. His rebounding, in particular 7 offensive rebounds, helped Mesquite keep possessions alive. [player_tooltip player_id="1032868" first="Drew" last="Owens"] Mesquite The senior big man had a season high 16 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Drew did a good job of keeping the ball high and consistently finishing over the smaller Panthers. [player_tooltip player_id="1216999" first="Jaylen" last="Wollangk"] Mesquite The guards value wasn’t in his offense but on his defense. He did a admirable job on Camacho limiting him to 13 2ND half points. He fought over screens and tried to make shots as difficult as possible. [player_tooltip player_id="814508" first="Andrew" last="Camacho"] Peoria In defeat the junior scoring machine was must see TV especially in the first half. He went for 44 points in the game including 31 in the first half. Even when Mesquite knew that he was going to shoot, there wasn’t much they could do, but hope that some of the shots wouldn’t fall. [player_tooltip player_id="1334763" first="Calvin" last="Windley"] Peoria What if will be the question asked concerning Calvin. It seemed as if he was in foul trouble as soon as the game started. Calvin finished with 24 points in what couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes of actions. He spearheaded a late comeback late in the game to make the score look respectable but it was too little too late. [player_tooltip player_id="1334752" first="Caden" last="Bass"] Peoria The freshman showed good poise and a soft touch going against the senior heavy Wildcat squad. Bass finished with 11 points and 3 steals.

On February 18th I watched a battle of 4A contenders battle it out for a spot in the Final Four. Here are some of my takeaways.

Nathan Calmese Nathan Calmese 6'2" | PG Mesquite | 2022 State AZ Mesquite (Featured image)

The top scorer in 4A didn’t disappoint on Friday night. Nathan hit an array of shots on his way to a 37 point performance. He hit step back three’s, pull up jumpers, and attacked the rim at will. What shouldn’t be undervalued was his passing. While eyes were all on him he was handing out assists to cutting teammates.

Cohen J Gonzales Cohen J Gonzales 5'8" | PG Mesquite | 2023 State AZ Mesquite

The junior point guard was quick off the dribble and handled the Peoria press most of the night. His low center of gravity makes it hard to steal the ball and add in a good handle and it was off to the races a lot of times for Cohen J. He had numerous breakaway layups finishing with 20 points to go along with 6 assists and 3 steals.

Kayson Bryant F 6’3 2022 Mesquite

The senior forward was the recipient of dimes being dropped by Calmese and Gonzales. Kayson finished with 18 points and a game high 11 rebounds. His rebounding, in particular 7 offensive rebounds, helped Mesquite keep possessions alive.

Drew Owens Drew Owens 6'6" | PF Mesquite | 2022 State AZ Mesquite

The senior big man had a season high 16 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Drew did a good job of keeping the ball high and consistently finishing over the smaller Panthers.

Jaylen Wollangk Jaylen Wollangk 5'11" | PG Mesquite | 2024 State AZ Mesquite

The guards value wasn’t in his offense but on his defense. He did a admirable job on Camacho limiting him to 13 2ND half points. He fought over screens and tried to make shots as difficult as possible.

Andrew Camacho Andrew Camacho 6'1" | CG Peoria | 2023 State AZ Peoria

In defeat the junior scoring machine was must see TV especially in the first half. He went for 44 points in the game including 31 in the first half. Even when Mesquite knew that he was going to shoot, there wasn’t much they could do, but hope that some of the shots wouldn’t fall.

Calvin Windley Calvin Windley 6'3" | SF Peoria | 2023 State AZ Peoria

What if will be the question asked concerning Calvin. It seemed as if he was in foul trouble as soon as the game started. Calvin finished with 24 points in what couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes of actions. He spearheaded a late comeback late in the game to make the score look respectable but it was too little too late.

Caden Bass Caden Bass 6'4" | SG Phhoenix Prep | 2026 State AZ Peoria