Bordow: It's a true team title for Basha boys

• Scott Bordow recapped the state basketball semifinals and finals. Scroll for more.

Three takeaways from Chandler Basha’s 75-65 victory over Tempe Corona del Sol in the 6A Conference boys championship game Tuesday:

Gabe rules

Coming into the game, it was obvious a smaller Corona team didn’t have anyone who could handle 6-foot-5 Basha center Gabe McGlothan. And Basha coach Mike Grothaus, being no dummy, made McGlothan the centerpiece of his offense. McGlothan, who might have the best pair of hands in the state – is there a pass he can’t handle? – scored 21 points, and when he was doubled, he found teammates for open looks, collecting four assists.

Afterward, Corona del Sol coach Neil MacDonald spent a couple of extra seconds with McGlothan in the handshake line, putting his arm around McGlothan’s neck.

“I told him he was a heck of a player and he’s the kind of player coaches love to coach and I enjoyed watching him play and I wished him the best at West Point,” MacDonald said. “He’s a special kid.”

McGlothan’s work on the defensive end was just as important. His size and length made it difficult – if not impossible – for Corona’s Saben Lee to find open lanes to the basket. Lee is at his best when he’s beating defenders with his first step but when he did McGlothan was there to meet him to either alter or block his shot. Lee finished with 19 points but made just 5 of 20 shots and did most of his damage after Basha had built him a late double-digit lead. McGlothan had three blocked shots.

“Gabe is one of the best high school players in the state,” Grothaus said. “If he’s not player of the year, I don’t know who is.”

RELATED: Basha seniors fulfill promise, capture 1st state basketball championship

What a career

University of Arizona coach Sean Miller was in attendance to watch Corona guard Alex Barcello, who signed with the Wildcats. Barcello put on a show, scoring 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting and keeping the Aztecs in the game when Lee was having a difficult time scoring in the first half.

Barcello finished his high school career with two state championships and three title-game appearances. And to think what his career might have looked like had Marvin Bagley III stayed at Corona.

Either way, it’s been an incredible four seasons for Barcello, who will go down as one of the best high school players in the state in the past 20 years.

MORE: 2017 high school basketball playoff schedule

Team effort

While Barcello moves on to Arizona and Lee takes his dynamic talent to Vanderbilt, Basha will size its championship rings and revel in the fact it was the better team. That’s not a knock against Corona, which was just too young beyond Lee and Barcello. But Basha got contributions up and down its roster.

Terrell Brown finished with 23 points, including a stretch in which he hit three straight 3-pointers in the first half. Point guard Austin Picarello took just two shots but was 9 of 10 from the free-throw line late in the game. Nico Daal hit two big 3-pointers, and Brennen Davis had four points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

“This team is just a special team,” Grothaus said. “I’m so proud of these guys.”

6A girls title game

Three takeaways from Surprise Valley Vista’s 44-36 victory over Goodyear Millennium in the 6A Conference girls basketball state championship game Tuesday:

Third time around

Valley Vista and Millennium know each other so well. They’re in the same region, so they played twice during the regular season. Millennium won by seven points on Jan. 20; Valley Vista by six on Feb. 7. The result of that familiarity: Each team knew exactly what it needed to do, on both ends of the court. There would be no surprises, no schemes that either team hadn’t seen.

Simply put, Valley Vista played the better basketball game. Its defense forced 22 Millennium turnovers and swarmed Millennium center Ali Zelaya whenever she got the ball. Zelaya still put up numbers – 11 points, 14 rebounds – but she wasn’t a dominant force. Plus, Millennium sophomore Dominique Phillips had to fight through traffic whenever she got the ball, one reason for her 5 for 19 shooting night.

“We know that they’re two of the main scorers, so finding a way to contain them,” Valley Vista guard Taylor Chavez said. “It came down to heart.”

MORE: Nominate athlete for I Am Sport Award, presented by Nike

Can’t guard this

Valley Vista’s backcourt was – in a word – terrific. Chavez scored 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. But it was her running mate, point guard Rysha Banner, who repeatedly turned back Millennium’s charges in the second half. Twice, Banner got into the lane and turned corkscrew drives into points to extend Valley Vista’s lead. She finished with 16 points and, on the defensive end, had six steals.

Chavez said Millennium was tilting its defense to her side and Banner took advantage.

“She finds a way to get to the basket,” Chavez said. “She’s a great player.”

“They underestimate her,” coach Rachel Matakas said. “That’s what’s so great about Valley Vista. It’s team basketball.”

Careless handle

Millennium will look back on a first half in which little went right, particularly in terms of taking care of the basketball. Millennium had 13 first-half turnovers and shot 6 of 20 from the field. Some of the turnovers were induced by Valley Vista, but too often Millennium was its own worst enemy, rushing passes or dribbling into traffic and losing the ball.

Millennium finished with 22 turnovers and just nine assists while shooting 31.3 percent from the field. That’s a tough way to try to win a state championship game.

Monday's games

5A boys: Sunnyslope vs. Apollo

Three takeaways from Phoenix Sunnyslope’s incredible 58-57 double-overtime victory over Glendale Apollo for the 5A Conference boys championship Monday:

Perfection

I can’t imagine a better title game. First, the atmosphere at Grand Canyon University Arena was absolutely electric. The place was packed, as opposed to having a few thousand at Gila River Arena. The fans were rowdy and, for the most part, well behaved, except for one towel that found its way onto the court.

Then, the game itself was just brilliant. In a fast-paced, physical contest that went two overtimes, the teams had just 15 combined turnovers. And to end it, everyone had to wait about 2 minutes as the referees tried to determine whether Apollo’s Holland Woods got off his last-second shot before the buzzer.

“I just wanted to see it,” Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said.

We all did.

RELATED: Sunnyslope holds off Apollo in 2OT for 5A crown

When the officials signaled the game was over, Sunnyslope erupted in celebration, the title made even sweeter because it lost twice to Apollo in the regular season, including in three overtimes on Jan. 17.

The amazing thing: Sunnyslope doesn’t have a senior on its roster. Asked if he expected this, Portela smiled and said, “No.”

One more thing: After sportsmanship took a holiday in a couple of games on Saturday, it was great to see Sunnyslope’s players find the inconsolable Woods near the free-throw line and throw their arms around him.

Well done all around.

What a show

Woods single-handedly kept Apollo in the game all night, scoring 33 points on 11-of-26 shooting and making big shot after big shot. Even his shot just after the buzzer somehow went in.

Sunnyslope knew what Woods wanted to do: Go left to drive to the basket or pull up right for his jumper. And it still couldn’t stop him.

Simply a remarkable performance.

Bigger is better

Sunnyslope nearly lost the game at the free-throw line – it missed three free throws in the final minute of regulation – but it persevered because its two big men – Chris Orozco and Kyle Fischer – came up big. Orozco had 25 points and Fischer made the game-winning two free throws to go along with his 17 points and eight rebounds.

Woods was the best player on the floor but Apollo couldn’t handle Sunnyslope inside and that was the difference.

5A girls: Mesquite vs. Sierra Linda

Three takeaways from Gilbert Mesquite’s 59-38 victory over Phoenix Sierra Linda in the 5A Conference girls basketball championship game Monday:

No doubter

Just as Chandler Seton Catholic was the heavy favorite to win the 4A title, Mesquite was the easy pick to win 5A. The Wildcats lost in the Division I championship game to Chandler Hamilton last year but went down a division/conference under the new realignment.

How dominant was Mesquite in 5A? Only two Arizona teams – Surprise Valley Vista and Phoenix Xavier Prep – came within 20 points of the Wildcats. Its only loss was to – who else? – Seton. It beat runner-up Sierra Linda by 29 points in the regular season.

The scary thing, if you’re a 5A team looking forward to the 2017-18 season: Mesquite has just one senior – Lauren Harrington – on its roster, and she’s not a starter.

RELATED: Mesquite wins first girls basketball title

Dynamic duo

Mesquite has a terrific backcourt in point guard Shaylee Gonzales, the coach’s daughter, and shooting guard Lindsey VanAllen. Gonzales fills up the box score: She had 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

VanAllen, meanwhile, is a big-time threat beyond the 3-point line and is also aggressive going to the basket: She finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the stripe.

It’s no surprise that Gonzales and VanAllen mesh so well. They’ve been playing together since they were 8 years old.

“They want it and go after it,” said coach Candice Gonzales, Shaylee’s mother. “They have the green light to just go and trip and get after it, and they just enjoy doing that.”

Hung in there

It was easy to dismiss Sierra Linda before the game began. After all, its 70-41 loss to Mesquite earlier in the year was evidence enough it wouldn’t be competitive in the title game.

At least, that was the assumption.

Instead, Sierra Linda made life miserable for Mesquite all night. The score was tied at 15 after one quarter and Mesquite led by just three at halftime before finally pulling away late in the third quarter.

Sierra Linda point guard Jenay Bojorquez constantly broke down Mesquite’s defense, getting into the lane and creating easy baskets for her teammates. She had 11 points, five assists and five rebounds.

A moral victory in a state championship game isn’t easy to digest, but Sierra Linda should be incredibly proud of its season and the way it played Monday.

Saturday's games

Fight mars Shadow Mountain win

This should be a column about Phoenix Shadow Mountain’s 4A Conference boys basketball state championship victory over Tucson Salpointe Catholic on Saturday. And at some point it will be.

But first, we need to talk about an ugly incident during Shadow Mountain’s 81-48 win and the unfortunate aftermath.

Here are the essentials: There were 7.5 seconds in the third quarter when Shadow Mountain sophomore Jaelen House blocked a layup attempt by Salpointe’s Isaac Cruz. At the time, Shadow Mountain was up 68-39. The game was over, the championship won.

House, who was called for a foul, started taunting Cruz, who responded with a shove to the chest, knocking House backward. All of a sudden, players from both teams were pushing and shoving before being separated. Somehow, when order was restored, the empty sneakers of Shadow Mountain’s Marcus Shaver were on the free-throw line.

Both Cruz and House were ejected from the game, and rightly so. House prompted the skirmish with his yapping, and Cruz escalated it with a shove.

By itself, the incident wasn’t anything extraordinary. Players often lose control of their emotions, particularly with so much on the line. More disturbing, however, was the postgame reaction of Shadow Mountain coach Mike Bibby.

When asked about it, Bibby absolved House of any blame.

“I don’t care what he said. The kid should never be able to throw a punch at our kid,” Bibby said. “It shouldn’t even have gotten to that point. We’re up 30 points, so there was no hostility on our side. ... There’s trash talking going on all game. That’s part of the game. It should never get to the point where you put your hands on them.

"As a man ... you've got to defend yourself. ... Jaelen did what he has a right to do to defend himself."

Sorry, but that’s nonsense.

I get that Bibby wants to defend his players. But House was in the wrong, as well. Taunting an opponent when you have a 29-point lead is both unnecessary and provocative. Cruz reacted poorly, but his anger was understandable given the situation.

Fortunately, after officials brought the teams together, the fourth quarter was played without further incident. But when Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Director Harold Slemmer went to present the championship trophy to Shadow Mountain, only Bibby was around to accept it. The players had gone into the locker room to be with House because AIA officials said he couldn’t return to the court.

The reasoning, according to Slemmer: House and Cruz had attempted to go after each other in the hallway and had to be separated by security. AIA officials feared another confrontation.

OK, that makes sense. But here’s what doesn’t: Even after Salpointe left the court after accepting its runner-up trophy, House wasn’t allowed to join his teammates on the floor to cut down the net. At that point, there was no reason to worry about another incident. Preventing House from taking part in the celebration was undue punishment.

“We wanted to keep them separate,” Slemmer said.

But by that point, they were.

“I don’t see why he shouldn’t be able to come out,” Bibby said. “The game is over. They’re off the court. There’s no chance of us crossing paths with them again.”

The skirmish deflected attention from what was Shadow Mountain’s absolute domination. It won its four playoff games by 40, 68, 40 and 33 points. The Matadors have won 33 straight games and 51 against Arizona opponents. Their talent comes at teams in waves. If it’s not House, it’s Shaver or Jovan Blacksher or Darion Spotsville.

Shadow Mountain is so quick defensively that teams must feel as if they’re playing five on six. Forget 4A. Shadow Mountain might very well have won the 6A title this year.

It’s just too bad that a few words, an angry reaction and then an overreaction became so prominent.

FIND A GAME: High school basketball playoffs schedule

Seton proves its Wirth

Chandler Seton Catholic coach Karen Self didn't want to talk about her ninth state title Saturday. Instead, she wanted to focus on what was nearly a flawless performance by Seton in its 61-27 victory over Cave Creek Cactus Shadows in the 4A Conference girls basketball state championship game.

"One hundred percent vindication," Self said, her smile wide.

She was referring, of course, to Cactus Shadows' 54-41 victory over Seton in January, a game in which Sarah Barcello didn't play because of a concussion and LeeAnne Wirth was limited with a back problem. Seton was fully healthy for Saturday's game – although Wirth is still dealing with the back issue – and there never was any about as to which was the better team.

It was 8-2 early, 31-12 at halftime and, really, over at that point. Jenn Wirth had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Seton, while Barcello scored a game-high 20 to go along with eight rebounds.

This was Seton's third title in four years and sixth this decade.

Amazing.

So it his: Self's nine titles are more than any other girls coach in Arizona history. And there's more to come.

Father and daughter

When the last two shots for Page didn't find the basket, Chandler Valley Christian girls basketball coach Scott Timmer found his daughter, Megan, on the bench and gave her a hug they both will remember the rest of their lives.

Megan Timmer, a senior, had fouled out late in Valley Christian's 41-40 3A Conference girls basketball state championship win. She could only look on and pray that her teammates would win without her. When they did, she and dad fulfilled a longtime dream.

"We've been talking about this game since she was a little girl," Scott Timmer said. "We said we were going to do this together."

To make it even sweeter, Valley Christian had been the state runner-up two of the last three years. Finally, the title was theirs.

"You begin to think you can't coach, that you don't know anything," Scott Timmer said. "That's what people tell you."

All they can call Scott and Megan now are champions.

Thursday's games

Corona del Sol's freshmen come up big

There was little doubt that Tempe Corona del Sol's big two of Saben Lee and Alex Barcello would come up big in its 6A Conference state semifinal game against Laveen Cesar Chavez on Thursday. Those two have carried the Aztecs all year, and they'd have to do it again to get to Tuesday's boys basketball state championship game.

Sure enough, Lee had 39 points – including 19 of 20 free throws – and Barcello 20 in Corona's 85-66 win.

But the difference in the game was two Corona freshmen, Dalen Terry and Eric Blackwell III. Imagine: You're a freshman playing against arguably one of the most athletic teams in the state in a huge game. Stage fright could set in. Instead, Terry and Blackwell played as if they were seniors who had done this kind of thing before.

Blackwell III had 14 points and seven rebounds while Terry chipped in with five points and five boards. More importantly, they weren't cowed by the moment or Chavez's size and athleticism.

Barcello and Lee will have to do it again Tuesday to have any chance against Chandler Basha. But Corona's task will become a bit easier if Blackwell III and Terry can duplicate that effort and performance.

Basha's defense shines in semifinal win

Playing defense is not glamorous. It requires commitment, sacrifice and team work. Few teams in the state do it better than Chandler Basha, which reached the 6A Conference boys basketball state championship game by virtue of its 43-38 victory over Phoenix Desert Vista on Thursday at Gila River Arena.

Desert Vista is long, athletic and can score. It put up 86 in a victory at Tempe Corona del Sol during the regular season. But its offense was suffocated by Basha's tenacious man-to-man defense. Every time Desert Vista tried to drive baseline, it was shut off. If a Thunder player got past his man, a second Basha defender came over to help.

The result: Desert Vista made just 13 of 32 shots (40.6 percent). It's hard, now that I think about it, to recall six open looks the Thunder got all game.

Basha wasn't much better offensively – it hit just 15 of 38 shots – but its calling card all year has been defense. And that defense will make life difficult for whoever it faces in the state title game.

Millennium girls have something good going

Goodyear Millennium has had a terrific girls' basketball program for years – it played in a state championship game two years ago – but it might be on the verge of something really big.

Millennium reached the 6A state championship game with a 52-47 victory over No. 1 seed Gilbert on Thursday at Gila River Arena. But here's the kicker: Its two best players are a sophomore and a freshman.

Start with do-everything sophomore Dominique Phillips, who had a game-high 24 points along with five rebounds and two blocked shots. She'll be one of the best players in the state the next two years. Then there's 6-foot-3 freshman Ali Zelaya. All she did against Gilbert was register a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Zelaya has a terrific shooting touch for someone so young and understands the game. As she gets stronger, she'll be virtually unstoppable.

That's a dynamic duo that could bring Millennium a championship – or two – in the next couple of years. Perhaps as soon as Tuesday's title game against Surprise Valley Vista.

Gilbert, meanwhile, has a nice future to look forward to, as well. Twin sisters Hanna and Haley Cavinder, who combined for 30 points in the loss, are just sophomores.

Chavez leads Valley Vista to 6A girls state title game

Surprise Valley Vista scored its fewest points all season in its 6A Conference girls basketball semifinal game against Phoenix Mountain Pointe on Thursday at Gila River Arena. Didn't matter. The Monsoon escaped with a 35-30 victory to move on to Saturday's state title game.

Valley Vista was 2 of 10 from 3-point range and 13 of 40 from the game. It had 22 turnovers to six assists. But it survived because Mountain Pointe had a horrendous (and that's no exaggeration) shooting night, making just 10 of 56 shots and going 0 for 12 on threes.

The best player on the floor: Valley Vista guard Taylor Chavez, who had 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Mountain Pointe's Jenise Strover, who's Clemson-bound, had 13 points and 11 rebounds but like the rest of her teammates just couldn't buy a shot.

Seton-Cactus Shadows rematch fulfills prophecy

Chandler Seton Catholic coach Karen Self and Cave Creek Cactus Shadows coach Richie Willis exchanged the usual pleasantries in the handshake line after last year’s Division II girls basketball state championship game, won by Seton, 49-40.

But Self also had a prophecy she wanted to pass along to Willis.

“See you next year,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Willis replied.

RELATED: Chandler Seton Catholic, Cave Creek Cactus Shadows to meet in 4A girls basketball final

“We both were returning pretty much everybody on our teams so it wasn’t like it was a big mystery,” Self said Wednesday after Seton’s 4A Conference semifinal win over Flagstaff Coconino. “We pretty much knew it was going to be the two of us.”

They left little doubt of their intentions in the semifinals, Seton beating Coconino by 33 points and Cactus Shadows following with a 19-point win over Flagstaff. Now comes the rematch, 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Gila River Arena for the 4A title.

Will Seton win its third state championship in four years and sixth this decade or will Cactus Shadows topple the giant?

“Myself and our staff have tried to keep (the rematch) on the back burner, but it’s hard to suppress that with young ladies,” Willis said. “They relish this moment and are looking forward to it.”

Although it’s been nearly a full year, the memories of last year’s title game are still vivid. Cactus Shadows got into early foul trouble and, eventually, five players fouled out. Late in the game, the loss certain, star player Caitlin Bickle sat on the bench sobbing, her head buried in her hands.

“It really does stick in your head, the mistakes you made, the mistakes your team made, what you could have done better,” Bickle said. “My biggest goal this year was to go farther than we did last year and the only way to do that is to win it.”

The two teams met in the regular season this year, Cactus Shadows winning 54-41 on Jan. 20. Willis believes that win was important because, “it was good for our girls to mentally get over the hump and know we can actually beat them.”

But the win comes with an asterisk. Seton played without guard Sarah Barcello (concussion) and 6-foot-3 forward Leanne Wirth was just returning from a back injury that is still so bothersome she’ll be shut down for six weeks after Saturday’s game.

Bring the loss up to Self and it quickly becomes apparent that she believes the Seton team Cactus Shadows will see on Saturday is not the Seton team it saw one month ago.

“Given Leanne’s lack of playing experience not having played for such a long time and not having Sarah and still as awful as we played and as poorly as we shot, it was still pretty close,” Self said. “They won by 13, but it was much closer than that most of the game and we were terrible that night.”

It’s hard to imagine Cactus Shadows – or anyone else, for that matter – beating Seton when it’s healthy. The Sentinels’ talent and experience in title games is invaluable. But Cactus Shadows could have the equalizer in Bickle, the 6-foot junior who had 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four blocks against Flagstaff and plays with a physicality you often don’t see in girls basketball.

If Bickle can control her emotions and stay out of foul trouble, Cactus Shadows has a shot.

“I think it’s going to be pretty important to her because I think she has a sense of trying to get a little bit of redemption in the state championship game,” Willis said. “I know Seton has been looking forward to this game. We’re looking forward to it, as well.”

Reach Bordow at scott.bordow@arizonarepublic.com or 602-448-8716. Follow him at twitter.com/sBordow.