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The Queen Creek boys’ basketball team hosted top-ranked Shadow Mountain on Tuesday night amid social-media predictions of a blowout defeat, but the Bulldogs played perhaps their best half of the season before the Matadors displayed tenacious defense in the second half, leading them to a 72 – 56 come-from-behind victory.
The Bulldogs were ready at the start, taking a 13 – 12 lead into the second quarter despite being called for more than 10 personal fouls during the game’s first eight minutes.
A pair of 11 – 4 runs – one by each team – highlighted the second quarter.
After Shadow Mountain had its run to take a 23 – 17 lead, Queen Creek responded with its own, which ended in the closing seconds of the first half on Tyler Bloom’s three-point bucket that gave the Bulldogs a 28 – 27 lead at the break.
Queen Creek senior forward Tyler Bloom (24) puts up a shot against Shadow Mountain in Tuesday’s game.
Bloom, a senior forward, led all scorers at halftime with nine points.
“I was pleased that we came out and didn’t back down from them,” Queen Creek head coach Troy Gibson answered when asked what he liked most about his team’s first-half performance. “We were ready to play, (our guys) came out with intensity and fire, (we) really got into them a little bit and they weren’t a happy bunch at halftime.”
Gibson was right, the Matadors came out angry in the third quarter and used it to their advantage, outscoring the Bulldogs 25 – 8 thanks to a cranked-up defensive effort and an increasing number of personal fouls called against the Bulldogs.
Shadow Mountain outscored the Bulldogs in the second half, 45 – 28.
Bulldogs’ forward Kade Parks (15) launches a three-pointer in Tuesday’s loss.
“Foul trouble hurt us a little bit,” Gibson said. “Losing Jacob (Botello), and Frigny (Niclasse) getting in foul trouble, really hurt us. (Frigny) is one of the guys we count on to handle the ball and in the third quarter we had a spell where we turned the ball over too much; tried to do too much against their press.”
There’s no doubt Shadow Mountain’s defense was the biggest cause for a poor third quarter, but the Bulldogs also continued a trend of meager second-half starts.
“Sometimes we’ll come out a little flat in the second half,” said Bloom, who finished with 11 points. “We’ve been trying to work on it; just come out a little bit stronger, being stronger with the basketball, and coming out with the same fire we showed in the first half.”
The Bulldogs shot 8-for-19 – a measly 42 percent – from the free-throw line in the game, which also contributed to their low scoring output in the third quarter.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures in the loss. In addition to Bloom’s 11-point effort, junior Kade Parks had a team-high 12 points while Niclasse, a senior, finished with 10.
Gibson acknowledged at least one positive takeaway from the loss against the team that many consider the state’s best team, regardless of division.
“We had the lead for 16 minutes,” he said. “I think we can take away that if we do what we need to do, I think we can play with anybody.”
Upcoming schedule: Jan. 7 at Campo Verde, Jan. 11 vs. Alhambra, and Jan. 13 at Williams Field. All games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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