The whole season boiled down to old fashioned mechanics and plenty of poise for the Phoenix Arcadia Titans.
As the 5A play-in tournament’s 17-seed, the Titans made the trip to Surprise Friday night to meet the 16-seed Willow Canyon Wildcats where they did their most damage from the free throw line late. With WC forced to foul to keep the clock close in a game that was even closer, Arcadia drained 12-of-13 free throws over the final 3:05 of regulation to seal its 78-71 win and advance to the state tournament.
The Titans get way more than a date in Round 1 of the 16-team 5A dance, which gets under way Feb. 16.
