Arizona Christian University Team Camp Day 3 Recap
It was the third and final day of games at the Arizona Christian University Team Camp. The joy of school ball in June is that you get the chance to see players play in a system and play team basketball.…
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Continue ReadingIt was the third and final day of games at the Arizona Christian University Team Camp. The joy of school ball in June is that you get the chance to see players play in a system and play team basketball. With that said, it was a day that the individual standouts really showed up and led their teams.
Rio Rico point guard Martin Ochoa (Class of 2017) was the conductor of an impressive Rio Rico team. The lefty PG played under control, showing the ability to keep his dribble alive as he found cracks in the defense and found open shooters. Rio Rico is a small team, but they utilize spacing very well on offense and move the ball quickly leading to open shots. On defense, they used a soft trap to speed up Bradshaw Mountain and came away with the win 47-38.
Valley Christian and Buena had an exciting game that was back and forth throughout. Buena was led by Keeno Bellinger (Class of 2019). A volume shooter from deep, Bellinger found his range in the second half and kept his team in the game. Valley Christian had a more balanced offensive attack with good spacing and constant ball movement. Devon Oliver (Class of 2017) was ultimately the difference in the game with his strong interior play. Oliver was a physical presence in the paint on both ends of the floor, finishing through contact on offense and controlling the defensive backboard. Valley Christian came away with the win 50-45.
It was a matchup of good guards as Jordan Green (Class of 2018) led his Cienega team against the backcourt duo of Trevor Thompson (Class of 2017) and Cam’Ron Davis (Class of 2017) of Moon Valley. While Davis was distributing, running the offense efficiently for Moon Valley, Thompson went basket for basket with Green. It was exciting to see whenever they were matched up against one another as both players did damage both attacking the hoop and from the perimeter, while also accepting the challenge defensively. Cienega won the OT thriller 54-51 thanks to 5 points in the last ten seconds of the game.
Logan Matulis (Class of 2017) and Rashie Hodge (Class of 2017) made their camp debuts today for Mountain Pointe as the Pride faced Horizon. Horizon’s strategy to speed the game up played right into the hands of the opposition, as a fast paced game is Mountain Pointe’s preference. Matulis shined from start to finish throwing down thunderous dunks and raining deep threes. Mountain Pointe won the contest 74-40.
Rio Rico won another one due to the impressive backcourt of Martin Ochoa and German Hrana (Class of 2017) against Queen Creek. The duo got into the lane at will and found open shooters who consistently knocked down shots. When the defense adjusted to take away the perimeter shots, Ochoa and Hrana went all the way to finish at the rim. Rio Rico won the game 58-42.
Nico Mannion (Class of 2020) came out aggressive for Pinnacle against Cactus Shadows. The Pioneers played at a much faster pace than before, utilizing their depth. Cactus Shadows played a similar style of drive and kick on offense, as they had shooters all over the floor. Pinnacle subbed in fresh players in waves every few minutes and wore down Cactus Shadows, winning 52-38 to advance to the championship against Rio Rico.
Mountain Pointe took on a big Beaumont team from California and it was close throughout the entire first half with zone defense frustrating both sides. In the second half, mountain Pointe went to a trapping defense and proved to be too athletic for Beaumont. Logan Matulis continued to hit perimeter shots and get out in the open floor for dunks and layups to lead Mountain Pointe to a 80-57 victory.
Rio Rico played their third game of the day as they took on Pinnacle in the championship game. Once again, Nico Mannion got to his spots on the court and hit the open man, whether it was Spencer Rattler (Class of 2019) who penetrated to the hole, Mason Johnson (Class of 2018) who finished inside, or Trent Brown (Class of 2019) knocking down threes, Pinnacle had too many weapons at their disposal for a tough, yet undersized Rio Rico team. Martin Ochoa and German Hrana showed up and played well, but Rio Rico fell 69-50.
Thank you to Arizona Christian University, Coach Jeff Rutter, Coach Matt Harris, and the rest of the staff as they went above and beyond with their hospitality. The event ran smoothly, featured good teams, and the officiating was consistent. Best of luck to the Firestorm in the upcoming season.