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| | |  | Artice By West Valley View On Championship Game |
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| Posted By: Trevor Wall on 2008-06-06 13:30:10 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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| 2/26/2008 | Email this article • Print this article | Tigers win 1st state title
Mike Russo
sports editor During his years in professional basketball, George Gervin was known as the "Ice Man." Millennium's Trevor Wall may be a worthy heir to the sobriquet. Wall calmly stepped to the free-throw line and hit both attempts to give the Tigers a 49-48 win over Agua Fria Saturday at Jobing.com Arena. It was the school's first state basketball championship. The two free throws were the culmination of a controversial closing sequence. Agua Fria had taken a 48-47 lead with 6.9 seconds remaining on a Travis Payton basket. Payton was fouled on the drive to the hoop, but missed the free throw, opening the door for the Tigers, and they crashed through. Millennium called a timeout near midcourt with 1.9 seconds remaining to set up a play for the final shot. Wall inbounded the ball to Cedric Easley, took a return pass and dribbled toward the hoop. His shot missed and the Owls' players rushed the court to celebrate. However, through the din, the referee's whistle had not been heard. A foul was assessed to Agua Fria's Aaron Altherr. "We thought we had the defensive stop but the referee called a foul with triple zeroes showing," Agua Fria assistant coach Vern Holmes said. "We thought the game was over. We were celebrating on the floor." Wall, who said he felt no pressure, coolly stepped to the free-throw line and swished both attempts for the win. "I've done it when I was little; hitting the winning free throws," he said. "I did it in junior high against No. 1 Hillcrest. "I dreamed about this last night," Wall added." I told my guys, 'If the game is close, I want the ball in my hands.'" It was the second time in four days that Wall has closed out a Millennium victory with clutch free throws. He made two free throws with 1.3 seconds remaining to seal the Tigers' 58-54 win over Scottsdale Saguaro in Wednesday's semifinal. "Trevor was very calm," Millennium coach Mike Lopez said. "He really came through for us." Wall's free throws offset a superb game by Payton, Agua Fria's point guard, who scored 16 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and handed out five assists, all game-high figures for Agua Fria. Payton scored all six of the Owls' points in overtime. Free-throw woes
Despite Wall's heroics, Agua Fria could have won the game if its players were as proficient from the foul line. The Owls connected on only 8 of 21 attempts from the stripe. "We just didn't shoot free throws well," Payton said. It was the free-throw shooting woes that sent the game to overtime. D.J. Hamilton, who scored 10 points, missed a free throw after scoring a basket, making the game 41-40, in Millennium's favor, late in the fourth quarter. Payton then hit a basket for a 42-41 lead with 1:38 left. Carrick Felix made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the score, 42-42, with 1:13 remaining. Neither team scored during the remainder of regulation. Wall hit a hoop to put Millennium ahead 44-42 midway through overtime. Payton answered with a pair of charity tosses and a bucket for an Owls' 46-44 lead. Cedric Easley nailed a 3-pointer to put Millennium back on top, 47-46. Payton again responded with the basket that gave the Owls' their final lead, 48-47, setting up Wall's theatrics. Great start
The game started exceptionally well for Agua Fria. Center Jon Underwood directed the opening tap toward Erik Bynes, who scored on a layup. Agua Fria used that as impetus to race out to a quick 8-0 lead. The Owls stretched their advantage to 14-2 with 2:02 remaining in the opening quarter. The Owls led 16-11 after one quarter after Felix buried a 3-pointer from about 23 feet that just beat the buzzer. Trailing 26-16 late in the second stanza, Millennium went on a 9-0 run to close out the half, getting within one point, 26-25. The score was deadlocked at 33-33 entering the fourth quarter. Neither team was able to open a sizeable lead over the final eight minutes. Agua Fria's largest lead of the quarter was four points, 37-33, and Millennium's biggest advantage was three points, 41-38. Agua Fria's defense proved troublesome for Millennium, especially in the first half. The Tigers had difficulty in its half-court offense, generating most of its points off turnovers in the opening half. "We didn't run our high-low offense very well," Lopez said. "We had trouble with it against Saguaro, too. I thought we had made the adjustments, but we didn't." Felix paced Millennium with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Wall had nine points 7 assists. The championship was especially gratifying for Lopez. He played for Winkelman Hayden, which lost the 1984 Class 2A title to Superior, 37-36, in overtime. The Hayden coach was Mike Warren, who is the current Westview athletic director. "This [the championship] means a lot to me," Lopez said. "I have waited 24 years for this." The win was Millennium's third of the season against Agua Fria. The Tigers (23-6) defeated Agua Fria (25-4) 53-52 at home Dec. 7 and 69-51 on the road Jan. 18. Agua Fria entered the game having won eight straight games and 16 of its last 17. The Owls last loss was to Millennium. The Tigers extended their winning streak to eight. The Owls were shooting for their first state title since 1966, when they went 26-0 and defeated Superior, 75-65, under coach O.K. Fulton. The Owls also won in 1962 and lost in the finals in 1967. "They fought back through the adversity [the fouling out of Underwood and Jesse Fleming] to get back into the game," Holmes said. "My hats off to Agua Fria," said Dennis Runyan, Millennium, principal. "This is what the rivalry is about. "I'm really happy for the coaches and players," he added. "They have worked so hard for this." Runyan said the playing of Welcome to the Jungle before the start of overtime may have been a good omen for the Tigers. "The Jungle is what we call our gym," he said.
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| Tags: Championship Millennium Tigers Trevor Wall |
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| Posted in basketball, high school sports, men's athletics |
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