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PHOENIX - It is hard for two gyms to be more different than Highland Prep's room with bleachers on one side and Veterns Memorial Coliseum.
But the Honey Badgers made themselves at home in their first visit to the Madhouse on McDowell Friday afternoon, dominating their 2A boys basketball semifinal against #4 seed Phoenix Christian.
In the final three quarters #8 Highland Prep (23-6) never led by fewer than six points, and rode junior forward Presley Ibeh's 25 points and seven rebounds to a 60-45 win.
"It's amazing. I came in and already knew we were going to win. We have one of the best coaches I've seen and he had a masterful plan," Ibeh said.
In its second year playing in the Arizona Interscholastic Association, this Surprise-based STEM charter school is playing in its first state final.
After stacking revenge wins against #1 seed San Tan Charter and Phoenix Christian, the Honey Badgers' final obstacle in completely unfamiliar. #2 seed Pima (25-3) beat #6 Arizona Lutheran 53-41 in the early semifinal.
Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, 1826 W. McDowell Road, Phoenix.
"Games like this are about rebounds, turnovers and free throws. Pima is long, big, tough and super well coached. It's going to be fun. Pima is all seniors and they've been fighting for it since they were freshmen," Hill said. "I'm so happy for Presley because people know who he is but he hasn't had that big game yet. We ran that patented back door play for the lob, that's when I knew we were rolling."
Highland Prep finally defeated its tormentor. In last year's 2A playoffs, #8 Phoenix Christian upset #1 Highland Prep 63-57 in the quarterfinals.
As new region rivals this year, the Cougars swept the Honey Badgers, winning 60-58 and 67-64. But Hill and his team had some ideas to slow down Phoenix Christian star junior guard Tommy Randolph.
"I don't show everything I've got in the regular season. Out here today, that coach has never seen the box and one I ran on him with three across the bottom and one on the top. It wasn't a traditional box and one, so we could get out to their shooters. We always had a hand in their face, and shutting down Tommy at the same time," Hill said.
It worked most of the game. Randoph had a dunk, then a layup to cut the Highland Prep lead to 25-19 in the second quarter.
However, he was limited to 14 points, a far cry from previous matchups.
"It's all Tommy. The team is all Tommy. You take away Tommy and they lose, it's that simply. My coach has been strategizing for the playoffs. We were gathering information ust for this time," Ibeh said.
Meanwhile, Ibeh had the highlight of the night, cutting baseline and skying for a two handed flush of junior guard Kohen Hill's alley oop for a 29-20. More importantly, he brought his jumper to the big arena.
Ibeh hit three of five three pointers and sank a couple other jumpers, finishing 11 of 15 from the field. He scored all 25 points in the first three quarters.
"Last year my shot was kind of shabby. I was in the gym 24/7 working on my jump shot. What sparked it for me was a game against Scottsdale Prep where I had six threes. That's when I knew I had the gift and I'm just letting it fly," Ibeh said.
He had plenty of help inside from freshman forward Tarrell Green Jr., who grabbed a game high 17 rebounds, six of them offensive. Green added 10 points.
Junior guard Darius McKnight had 12 points and three assists for the Honey Badgers and helped control the flow of the game with Kohen Hill (five assists).
"When we made them come guard us, we had mismatches. I thought Darius played real well. He had a couple plays where I got on him. He started to listen to what I wanted on offense. When we started to execute that, we started to run the score up to 20," Hill said. "Kohen did a good job keeping people composed. That's his' and Darius' job."
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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