By Richard Smith
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Twitter: @rsmithYWV

In this age of year-round basketball it is not as unusual to see a freshman score 40 points in the playoffs, particularly the son of an NBA player.

But to score 40 - 41 actually - in the flow of the game, distributing  the ball  and keeping turnovers low against one of the state's best trapping defenses? That's special stuff.

That's what Desert Mountain (25-4) freshman Kaden House did in Saturday's Open Division quarterfinal at Ironwood. The #13 seed Wolves locked down the #5 Eagles with their half court defense and kept the Ironwood defense honest with solid  three-point shooting and some drives to roll past Ironwood 81-61.

"(The House brothers) do a great job of making the right pass," Desert Mountain coach Mitch Armour said. "When you're that talented, it takes a special player to know how to use it, and they do a great job of it. They don't rush or force too many shots. They take what the defense gives them."

"Me and my brother (Kalek) would be in the gym with my dad (former NBA player Eddie House) my older brother (New Mexico guard Jaelen House) and my cousin. They were all college players, so us playing 5-on-5 with them made high school basketball not necessarily easy, but it advanced our development," Kaden House said. "We were really overpreparing for Ironwood every day after school in the film room for at least an hour. At night we were watching it by ourselves, as soon as the night we played Highland."

Desert Mountain is the lone 5A team standing in the first boys basketball Open Division. The Wolves are bringing more than Kaden House and Kalek, who had 17 points against Ironwood.

The Wolves take on the toughest challenge next,  #1 seed Gilbert Perry. The defending 6A champion, led by stars Cody Williams and Koa Peat, play Desert Mountain at 7 p.m. Friday at Highland High School in Gilbert.

"I'm really looking forward to it because I like competing against the best players. We want to show them how good of a team we are. They're one of the best teams in Arizona and I'm really happy we get to play them," Kaden House said.

The visitors only led 18-16 after the first quarter, but put their foot down in the second. Kaden House hit three of his four first half treys in the quarter and Kalek House ended the half driving to the cup and banking in a layup high off the glass.

Kaden House had 24 points at the half.

"He didn't score 40 against bad defense," Ironwood coach Jordan Augustine said.

 But the Desert Mountain defense was as big of a story, limiting Ironwood's transition opportunities and locking down the Eagles half-court attack.

The result was a six-point quarter for the home team that ended up deciding the game.

"I would say we started locking in after our two (January) losses against North Canyon and Casteel, some great losses. We kind of regrouped and found out what we had to do as a team. Those two teams put it on us and we had to figure out what our DNA is. Playing as a team first is what all the guys on the roster have done," Armour said.

Desert Mountain is on an 11-game winning streak since

Ironwood (23-6) shot better from long range in the second half, making seven threes. But the Eagles never got closer than 16 points during the second half.

Senior wing Adonis Thomas led Ironwood with 14 points. But too many possessions bogged down with Desert Mountain forcing turnovrs or low-percentage shots.

"It's definitely the worst game we played all year. We weren't making simple reads. They were doubling Julius in the post.  For one reason or another, the ball stuck to hands," Augustine said.

Despite the sudden ending, this was one of Ironwood's best basketball seasons. The Class of 2023 was there for the program's lone state title as freshmen in 2020 and a 5A semifinal run the next year.

Eight of the 10 players in the rotation for a 16-12 team last year returned for this season and raised the program into the final eight for the whole state during the first Open Division..

"This is definitely the best defensive team I've had," Augustine said. "We've been very blessed over here.  Other than last year last year  we've always gone further in state."

The foundation for another contender will return. Junior guard Noah Gifft (10.6 ppg) and sphomore guard I'Yar Shadowvine (9.7 ppg) are two of the Eagles top three scorers,  and junior sharpshooter Blake Carabio and junior forward Nathan Wanjohl are back.

But they are only four of Ironwood's nine players that averaged between 4.7 and 10.6 points a game on offense. Defensively, seven of those nine players averaged between .7 and 1.3 steals per game.

"This team was special. What made us good enough was each player playing their role, the way they balanced each other," Augustine said. "All four years these seniors were here the program GPA was above 3.0. All they did was win, in every aspect."

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps
@rsmithYWV

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.