Deer Valley survives Falcons late flight for 4th straight 4A final

By Richard Smith
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A celebratory mood at Deer Valley shifted to genuine concern in the span of about 10 minutes Monday night.

Fourth seed Cactus Shadows erupted with a 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter to erase most of a 19-point deficit. Falcons junior Jack Gatson’s trey cut the home team’s lead to 59-56 with 1:16 left in the game.

But this 4A boys basketball semifinal was senior point guard Sergio Gonzales’ final game in Skyhawk Gym. Gonzales crossed over into a three with 46.4 seconds left, then hit the final two free throws to cap a 64-56 win and his 33-point night.

“When they started coming back we started going to a lot of ball screens. I felt like the whole time he was cheating on a ball screen, so I gave him a little crossover and a step back. And the shot fell,” Gonzales said.

No current Deer Valley player has seen a season end somewhere other than Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The top seeded Skyhawks (24-3) will play in their fourth straight 4A state title game against #2 Phoenix Arcadia (21-5) at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at the coliseum, 1826 W. McDowell Road, Phoenix.

“We don’t take it for granted. They work hard, and so I don’t think we’re deserving of anything but the hard work they put in pays off,” Deer Valley Coach Jed Dunn said. “It’s been fun, man. It’s been a great journey. I’m with them every day. We don’t have kids at home anymore, we’re empty nesters, and these are my children.”

Cactus Shadows started its rally from a 54-35 deficit with junior Miles Godfrey’s three early in the fourth. Junior Jackson Kragel, Godfrey, junior Terrell Fair and Godfrey again scored by taking the ball to the basket.

Freshman Colin Godfrey drew a foul and hit two free throws and the Deer Valley lead was six.

“We have some frustration with our guards in the first quarter that didn’t get any calls. And they were frustrated with it when they were going to the rim. So we talked about playing off two feet, making ball fakes and trying to absorb some contact. If you don’t get the call, we’re kicking out for open threes,” Cactus Shadows Coach Zach Washut said.

Sergio Gonzales ended the run with a three, but Miles Godfrey answered right back with his own, as the Falcons’ success at the cup opened up good looks from deep.

Deer Valley senior wing Elias Riley and Colin Godfrey traded buckets before Gaston’s late three.

“We were just saying to stay composed, not rush anything and not turn the ball over,” Skyhawks junior guard Micah Andrews said. “We had to make smarter plays and smarter reads.”

Dunn’s team won its first two 4A playoff games by 31 and 16 points, and had not played a 4A team that could get within 10 points until Monday.

“Yeah, that’s good for us. I certainly thought they had a chance of beating us at the end. I wasn’t confident. That basket Sergio made at the end was huge for us,” Dunn said. “They’re good and I had a feeling they were going to make a run.”

This was the first state first final four in program history, Washut said.

Wing Ethan Ulrich and guards Riley Haggerty and James Wade were the only seniors in the Falcons regular rotation.

“This class of juniors, because we’re going to be very senior heavy next year, has been a progression. Two years ago, Elite Eight, tied atop the region. This year we made the next jump to the Final Four,” Washut said. “This is a tough place to play. This is a very well coached team that shot the absolute whatever you want to call it out of the ball. We were right there, but at the same time we put ourselves in a big hole.”

Deer Valley defended, passed and shot at a high level in the first half. Gonzales hit his first shot, a three, and had 19 at the break.

Andrews also finished all half, with 14 points. The first play, Dunn said, was set up for Andrews to play down hill and be aggressive with his shot.

“They’re a special group. They’re always connected and always playing the right way. We were hitting shots in the first half. We needed all those points for sure,” Dunn said.

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & 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.