By Richard Smith
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In the first half - the second quarter in particular - Dysart boys basketball was as alert and responsive defensively as a team in the second game of a preseason tournament.

There was one problem. Wednesday was the second game of the Demons' postseason and visiting #12 seed ALA-Queen Creek was back cutting #5 Dysart of the court to grab a 30-28 lead at the break.

At halftime the Demons locked in and locked down the Patriots' drivers and cutters with the length of shot blockers Lamar and Nigel Anderson and Kye Brown. Dysart shut down ALA in the first four minutes of  the fourth quarter, as a 9-0 run helped turn a tie game into a 59-51 win.

"We had nerves coming into the game. We had the pressure on us. Coming into halftime, we said it's simple mistakes and we need to lock in," junior Lamar Anderson said. "We stopped giving up easy ones."

Now the Demons head south to play a Tucson Sahuaro program that has become their most frequent playoff foe. 

While #4 Sahuaro (22-4) has home court advantage, the Demons enjoy a recent and historical edge. These teams had not met for at least 20 years before 2019.

Friday night's tilt will be their fourth playoff game in six years and Dysart (24-4) brings in a 3-0 record in the series. That includes a 64-61 first round win in Tucson last season.

"This year I've kind of kept tabs on them. I know they return almost everybody from last year and they were a real good team last year," Dysart coach Keegan Cook said. "They've got a lot of talent."

The squad from El Mirage took a leisurely 16-11 lead after one but then played too relaxed.

Junior guard Layfe Clarkson heated up for ALA-Queen Creek (14-12), leading all scorers with nine points before the break.

"There was definitely a point in that first half where they hit us in the mouth and we had to respond. And it took us a little while to respond. I think my guys didn't think we'd have to grind it out like we did. I knew going into it that it was going to be a tough game," Cook said. "They're a solid team that plays good defense and works together well on offense.

The teams traded the lead throughout the third quarter , ending it tied at 41.

A guard-oriented Patriots' team kept getting the corner for drives to the cup, But in the second half a Demons' rim protector was usually there.

Most of the time it was senior Nigel Anderson on protection duty. He finished with six of his team's 11 blocks.

"We also switched on a few matchups," Lamar Anderson said. "Whenever they were able to drive, we made some we had length in the paint. We had a few steals and blocks and when we got in transition we started scoring."

 Dysart's decisive run began with senior forward Tre'Shon Lewis' basket, followed by layups by Lamar and Nigel Anderson.

Then Nigel Anderson picked off a baseline pass by the Patriots, turned and launched an outlet pass to senior guard Easton Carleton, who didn't have to dribble before sinking a trey for a 50-41 lead.

"Coach told us to keep the ball moving," Morales said. "He told me to attack off the pass, but once you get in there, look for a man in the corner for a layup."

All the home team needed to do to ice the game was make its free throws. And that was a problem.

Dysart entered the final minutes 4-16 from the line. The last four of those misses allowed ALA to claw back to 53-47.

Nigel Anderson, Carleton and Brown came through, making the Demons' final six free throw tries.

"Free throws have not been a big issue. We've done ok all year," Cook said. "There was extra pressure on them. Missing that first four in the last two minutes but turning around and making the final six kind of put it away."

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.