PHOENIX — Glendale Deer Valley will have nothing to lose in Saturday’s Class 4A boys basketball state final.
It won’t be favored, even after dropping down a conference after reaching the 5A final last year.
But this team won’t stop believing until the final horn.
That resiliency held off a late Catalina Foothills charge Friday in a 52-45 semifinal victory at Grand Canyon University Arena.
Point guard Johny Diaz’s shot wasn’t on (4 of 12, 2 of 6 from 3), but he got a lot of help:
Brandon Savage had 12 points, nine rebounds and the game-clinching steal with less than a minute to play.
Guard Malcolm Jackson hit a 3 with 4:41 left after Foothills cut it to two.
Guard Jaret Allen had 11 points, four steals and sank four clutch free throws in the final 2:51.
“Catalina Foothills is not an 11 seed,” Deer Valley coach Jed Dunn said.
Dunn could be turning his players loose to against 19th-ranked (nationally) Shadow Mountain on Saturday night at 7 at Gila River Arena for the title.
The last time the teams met, Deer Valley made 28 turnovers, got down by more than 20 but was able to cut it to 10. In that sense, it was a moral victory. But the Skyhawks want to finish strong after coming up short against Phoenix Sunnyslope in last year’s 5A final.
“The goal coming into the season was that we’ve got to get back there (to the final),” Diaz, who had 12 points and hit a big 3 with 4:44 to play to give his team a 41-36 lead. “We knew we left something on the table. We’ll try to get it this year.”
Since the 75-52 loss to Shadow Mountain on Jan. 5, No. 2-seed Deer Valley (23-4) has won 11 in a row.
The Skyhawks have been able to close out close games since then and that was needed Friday against a team that moved the ball very well and got it to the open man for shots.
Forward Hayden Moser led Catalina Foothills with 16 points, followed by guard Carson James’ 14.
“They run so many sets,” Dunn said. “I was afraid to run zone against them. No. 4 (James) is a really good shooter.”
Catalina Foothills made only 3 of 12 3-pointers in the game and shot 44.7 percent from the field.
Deer Valley survived by shooting 40 percent but it made 7 of 18 3-pointers with Jackson making two of them, along with Diaz.
Savage missed his first three free throws in the game, but he hit two big ones with 2:18 left to extend Deer Valley’s lead to 47-43.
Savage is a beast around the glass, working to get in position to make second shots. He also played well defensively.
”Little things,” Savage said. “We have to box out. Everything matters to us.”
Salpointe Catholic’s Jake Cioe (12) passes under defensive pressure from Shadow Mountain’s Jaelen House (2) during the first half of Friday’s Class 4A state semifinal game at Grand Canyon University.
No. 1 Phoenix Shadow Mountain 77, No. 4 Salpointe Catholic 70: At Grand Canyon, Shadow Mountain used 1 fourth-quarter run to take a lead, and then held on as the Lancers rallied in the game’s final minute. Coach Mike Bibby’s team advances to Saturday’s state championship game against Phoenix Deer Valley.
Salpointe received hot shooting from guard Luc Rosenblatt, but foul trouble sent Pepperdine commit Majok Deng to the bench early in the fourth quarter. That’s when Shadow Mountain struck, building a lead that managed to hold despite a late Lancers run. The loss ends the state playoff run for coach Jim Reynolds’ fourth-seeded Lancers. Salpointe Catholic beat its first two playoff opponents — Palo Verde and Gilbert Mesquite — by a combined 70 points. Shadow Mountain was led by speedy guard Jaelen House.
The son of former ASU star Eddie House pulled his team within a point of Salpointe with a layup near the end of the third quarter, then kept the pressure on the Lancers in the fourth.
No. 2 Pusch Ridge Christian 54, No. 3 Sabino 47: At Gila River Arena, the Lions advanced to the Class 3A state title game with a victory. They’ll face Phoenix Valley Christian at 3 p.m. Saturday for the state championship.
