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For once, the 4A boys basketball season and state tournament lacked the air of the inevitable.
The Shadow Mountain dynasty has ended after four straight championships. Tucson Salpointe Catholic, the only team to challenge the Matadors in the previous two seasons, entered the favorite and eventually claimed the crown.
But the Lancers faced quite the fight to win their first title. And a surprising team that came together over the course of a tumultuous season from Old Town Peoria provided their greatest challenge.
“I’m very proud of how they represented this school and this community. And they should be proud, because nobody had them coming this far,” Peoria High School interim coach Patrick Battillo said.
Salpointe survived Peoria in overtime of the 4A state finals Feb. 29 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, winning 54-48. By then the Panthers were the top seed and proved they belonged.
“It is very difficult and that is a testament to our staff,” Battillo said. “I know they’re disappointed and they should feel very proud of what they have done. But knowing their talent and who we are, that’s why it hurts so bad. We know we can play with anybody in the state.”
But no one entered the 2019-20 campaign touting a Peoria team that was upset in the first round last year and lost three senior starters.
Leading scorer Isaac Monroe was back for his senior year and his presence suggested a solid playoff team.
Senior guard DeAndre Petty and juniors Kevin Kogbara and Corey Perry played mostly off the bench last season. Kogbara had shown rare skill for a 6-5, 230-pound forward, but only in spurts.
Petty averaged less than 10 minutes a game, scoring 2.4 points and 1.7 assists. Perry scored 3.6 points a contest in even less time.
Freshman guard Andrew Camacho drew raves with his play in the summer and fall.
After three months of the season, this mostly-new starting five was a wrecking crew, pressing opponents all over the floor. In the final, and the Panthers’ 85-59 demolition of Phoenix St. Mary’s Catholic on Feb. 25, Peoria’s starters scored all of its points.
“Those five starters, my gosh, there’s not a weak link in that group. They’re all really good. They really play hard on defense. And that freshman, whoa,” Salpointe coach Jim Reynolds said.
The way the Panthers were able to put a fairly new team together for one season, blend their talents and make a dramatic improvement from 18-8 to 26-4 was a throwback to an era before destination programs reloaded.
And the delicate balance of this group could easily have come undone three weeks into the season.
Suddenly, the coach that had been more like a mentor to many young men in the neighborhood was gone.
Coach Will Roberts went on personal leave Dec. 15. The next day, JV coach Battillo suddenly was leading his alma mater through trying times.
He had no idea that the dramatic, difficult and electrifying run would lead to the program’s first state final appearance since 2012.
“It was extremely rewarding the whole way through. To be given the honor of taking over the program for Will while he’s out, and having the trust of the school and community - being an alum and knowing what Peoria High School means to the city and state - that was huge. Everyone came out and the mayor even sent a message to the team,” Battillo said.
He said the players never wavered, despite the obstacles they were up against. Twelve days after Battillo took over, Peoria lost a competitive final of the Judy Dixon tournament to eventual 5A champion Ironwood.
The calendar flipped to 2020 and Peoria won the first 15 games of the new year to grab the top seed in 4A.
“It was surreal and it was a blessing to be able to do that. Knowing the way those young men changed my life day in and day out, and our staff, I learn so much from them. And I hope I have an impact on them as young men,” Battillo said. “To coach them and lead them to this moment and to watch them execute like they did, I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Even then, the lack of preseason buzz made the Panthers somewhat of an unknown quantity as a top seed. No. 2 Salpointe entered the playoffs with a 26-1 record after splitting its two regular season games with Tucson rival Catalina Foothills
Shadow Mountain denied the Lancers three straight years, first in a finals blowout, then a 2018 overtime gut punch, then a seven-point semifinal win in 2019. Salpointe brought home that elusive championship, but it was not easy.
The Catholic school just got through a third battle with Catalina Foothills in a 56-50 semifinal win. Then Peoria pushed Salpointe to its limit.
“Anything you get is sweet, and we were knocking on the door with Shadow for a couple years. Playing as a favorite, there’s some pressure that goes with that. But we weren’t the 1 seed,” Reynolds said. “Peoria, with what they did to St. Mary’s and what they did today, wow.”
Monroe (17.6 ppg) again led the Panthers in scoring and grew tremendously as a playmaker (3.4 apg). They will be missed along with senior defensive specialist Jovon Scott and fellow senior Jacob Wood.
However Kogbara, Camacho and Perry are three great building blocks.
“Losing Isaac, DeAndre, Jovon and Jacob is going to be hugely impactful, especially in terms of their leadership,” Battillo said. “On the other hand, we’ve done an amazing job developing our youth - Corey and Kevin or course. Andrew, having three more years of him. And this is an experience that is invaluable - and we now have it.”
Richard Smith Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps @rsmithYWV
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.
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