Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

Deer Valley basketball was on the brink of heartbreak trailing 63-60 with a minute left in overtime of Tuesday night's 5A semifinal at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.

The Skyhawks saw a 57-51 lead slip away in the final two minutes, despite the efforts of their usually airtight four corners offense and Phoenix Paradise Valley's need to rack up four fouls in order to send Deer Valley to the line.

Paradise Valley senior guard Tashon Brown tied the contest at 58-58 with eight seconds left. Then Brown hit both free throws with 1:02 remaining in overtime.

But top seeded Deer Valley had come too far to panic. Senior guard Deven Breckner made a quick layup and the Skyhawks fouled.

After two misses by the Trojans, Breckner grabbed the rebound and called time out with 32.9 on the clock. With Bryce Davis fouled out, junior Jaret Allen played the five along with four guards, and hit a three from the left wing for a 65-63 lead.

"I think I came out 0-3, and I wasn't shooting well. I came out in the fourth and made that three (for a 51-47 lead) and my confidence raised," Allen said. "I came up and popped from the elbow, and went into a side ball screen. Keyvaughn came off it and threw it back. They doubled him and dragged out and was wide open."

No. 12 Paradise Valley called at time out at 11.8 seconds. The Skyhawks set their defense and swarmed Brown (22 points on the night) and junior Nathan Perry (19 points), throwing double teams at them and not allowing the Trojans to get a shot off.

The 65-63 overtime victory sends Deer Valley (26-3) to the 5A finals for a winner -take-all third game against defending champion and No. 2 seed Phoenix Sunnyslope.(26-5). These teams return to Wells Fargo Arena and will tip off around 7 p.m. Feb. 27.

Coach Jed Dunn said the Skyhawks are fortunate to have that chance.

"(Paradise Valley) played a lot harder (than when the teams met in December) and they're well coached. They guarded Bryce well. We were lucky to get out of here," Dunn said.

The Deer Valley basketball team celebrates after their overtime win against Paradise Valley in a 5A semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]Indeed, the Trojans had an answer for every Skyhawks surge. Deer Valley led 15-14 after a quarter.

Davis set for seven minutes in the first half, some of which was after he picked up his second foul less than a minute into the second quarter.

He checked back in a couple minutes later and unleashed his repertoire on the Trojans, faking a baseline spin and dunking, then leaning in from the post for a short banker that put the Skyhawks up 23-20. Davis finished the half four for five with nine points.

Danzy posted the same halftime statline from the field and in the scoresheet, earning his ninth point on a scoop layup with a high degree of difficulty.

Paradise Valley stormed back to tie it at 25 and the Skyhawks ran out most of the final minute before junior guard Johnny Diaz penetrated the defense and sank a short floater.

"He's fearless. I love that guy," Dunn said.

Senior Keyvaughn Williams broke a 33-all tie in the early third quarter with a corner three and then scored off an offensive rebound. But senior forward Jordan Morris quickly answered with his own corner three.

It was a common theme, particularly in the second half. The Skyhawks built a few decent-sized leads, only to watch the Trojans quickly shoot their way back into it.

Perry hit all four of his triples and Morris drained three of four to finish with 15 points. Brown only hit one of two, but his biggest three-point attempt was his worst looking.

Before that, though, Diaz knocked down a trey and fellow junior Ethan Cashion grabbed an offensive rebound and followed with two seconds left in the third quarter. Deer Valley entered the fourth up 45-38, as the junior class stepped up to help their core four seniors.

"Jaret has been shooting it well all week in practice. Pressure kills performance, so we try not to have any pressure with this stuff," Dunn said.

The lead evaporated on Brown's lone triple and his three-point play on the next possession. Davis scored, but Perry's three near the five minute mark tied it at 47.

Davis pivoted out of a triple team to score and break the tie. After Brown made a free throw, Allen hit his first trey. Danzy was in and out late due to a jammed finger.

Perry bombed away again to draw Paradise Valley within three at 54-51. But Diaz responded with his second three and Deer Valley appeared to have every advantage, up 57-51 with 1:58 to go.

Deer Valley's Johnny Diaz (#2) drives to the basket against Paradise Valley in a 5A semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]"We've been able to learn from the seniors. They took us under their wing," Diaz said. "I believe in myself and have a high confidence level. I also watch a lot of Kobe videos and pick up things from him."

Brown quickly hit two free throws, but the Skyhawks appeared to have every advantage entering the final 100 seconds — the ball, a proven four corners offense to run out the clock and even Paradise Valley's lack of fouls. The Trojans would need to foul four times to force Deer Valley to the line.

Getting to seven fouls cost the Trojans more than a minute. But Breckner missed the front end of the one-and-one.

Brown got the ball, raced down and tossed up an off-balance three. But he drew a foul doing so and sank all three free throws with 21.6 seconds remaining.

Breckner made the front end of the one-and-one. But the Trojans grabbed the rebound, and after a time out, Brown simply sped by the defense and laid it in to tie, forcing overtime after a half-court shot missed.

"Keyvaughn doesn't typically do things like he did at the end in fouling him on a three point shot," Dunn said. "I'm proud of the boys and happy we won. We play against our spread (offense) in practice so our guys know what it's like to go against that. Maybe that helped us out."

Then in overtime, it was the Skyhawks' turn to respond to a deficit in overtime. They did so largely without Davis, who fouled out shortly after sinking two free throws to cut the Trojans' lead to 61-60.

Deer Valley is in its first state final in 12 years, and the first of Dunn's 10-year coaching tenure at the Glendale school. Couple that with a senior class that slowly matured and took their lumps along the way — this group did not win its first official playoff game until a week ago — and the painstaking journey makes this team's breakthrough more meaningful.

"I'm happy for the senior for sure. We've been together for so long. Keyvaugh was at Highland Lakes (where Dunn teaches middle school PE) with me and he's like my son to be honest," Dunn said. "I love Deer Valley and I've never looked at any other school for 10 years. The administrators are phenomenal. They let me coach. I'm going to retire there — if they let me. The atmosphere of the school has always been like that, like it's a family and everyone gets along."

Deer Valley's Ari Danzy (#1) drives to the basket against Paradise Valley in a 5A semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Paradise Valley  14 13  11  20 5 – 63

Deer Valley         15 14  16 13 7 – 65

BOX SCORE

Paradise Valley – Tashon Brown 24 points, 6 rebounds; Nathan Perry 19 points; Jordan Morris 15 points; Logan Gallaga 5 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists; Kendal Watson 4 rebounds.

Deer Valley – Bryce Davis 15 points, 5 rebounds; Keyvaughn Williams 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists; Ari Danzy 11 points; Johnny Diaz 8 points; Jaret Allen 8 points, 2 blocks; Deven Breckner 7 points, 4 assists; Ethan Cashion 2 points, 4 rebounds.