Richard Smith

The Sunnyslope basketball Class of 2018 continues to be dream killers for the West Valley.

Without a senior in 2017, this group stopped Liberty's miracle run cold in the 5A semifinals. Then, the Vikings reversed two regular season losses to Apollo, outlasting the Hawks 58-57 in double overtime.

They're all back and all but one of Sunnyslope's eight rotation players are seniors. Tuesday afternoon in Wells Fargo Arena, that was bad news for the miracle tournament journey of No. 11 Centennial.

No. 2 Sunnyslope (25-5) only shot 38 percent in the game, but rode its trademark suffocating defense to a comfortable 42-29 win and a berth in the final at 7 p.m. Feb. 27.

"We tell our guys shooting is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Defense never wavers," Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said. "We saw a lot of their game films and knew what sets their kids were going to run."

Centennial (16-14) never could get comfortable, and all the end of quarter scores sounded like they were a quarter or so off from normal. Sunnyslope led 9-4 after one, 18-6 at the half and 24-15 following the third.

The Coyotes fell behind 18-4 but showed some defensive tenacity of their own in holding the defending champions scoreless in the final four minutes of the half.

"There was more trust on defense. When guys drove there was help there. Sometimes it's about learning the third and fourth helpside. But we did pretty good defensively," Centennial coach Randy Lavender said.

Coyotes leading scorer Koby Jones connected on a pair of three-point shots in the third quarter, and a feed from sophomore guard Jojo Rincon to sophomore David Teibo just after his second trey cut the Vikings' lead to single digits for the first time since early in the second quarter.

Vikings senior guard Andrew Greb and Jones each made one of two free throws and it was 24-15 Sunnyslope after three. Jones had 11 of those 15 and often was the only Coyote that could create one-on-one.

"We knew they were going to try to get the ball to (Jones). We shaded him but he still got his points. #10 is a great player," Portela said.

Centennial's Payton Nelson (#13) drives to the basket against Sunnyslope in a 5A semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]Early in the fourth, junior forward Andrew Palomar made the crucial play of the game, running into the paint for an offensive rebound and putback that expanded the lead to 28-15.

Centennial released some of the defensive shackles, but Sunnyslope matched them basket for basket. Trailing 31-18, the Coyotes unveiled a full-court press and also tried  trap in the half court.

That failed to faze the veteran Vikings, who attacked when they had an open layup and broke the press and ran the clock when they did not.

"There's really no way to speed them up. They're pretty tough, well coached and just run their stuff. They're very disciplined. Lavender said. "I knew Sunnyslope would be focused and I told our guys they had to come  out focused. Then they held us to six points in the half."

While the contingent from Peoria experienced some dejection, the semifinal loss will give way to all the memorable moments that got this team to this point.

In Lavender's first season, Centennial started 6-9 - before the calendar flipped to 2018. Rincon and senior forward Trent Washington were working their way into the lineup after playing on the 5A champion football team.

The team started to jell in league play, finishing second in the Northwest Region with a 5-3 record. Lavender's squad entered the postseason as the No. 13 seed and moved up to No. 11 after region rivals Liberty and Shadow Ridge lost in the play-in games.

Centennial knocked off favored Cholla in Tucson. On Feb. 16, this group of underdogs were on Sports Center.

Tied at 66 with Laveen Betty Fairfax in the final nine seconds, Centennial set up a play that ended in a Fairfax blocked shot. But Rincon grabbed the ball, quickly squared his shoulders and launched a 35-foot prayer that swished through the net with a second remaining.

That night, and the crowd that mobbed Rincon after the shot that went viral, encapsulated the Coyotes' season. For the first time in a decade, Centennial basketball is not an afterthought.

It is a point of pride.

"It's been great and the support of the school has been great.  There's nothing more I can ask. I'm glad the kids got a taste of it and saw some success. I'm really not too unhappy because I'm proud they got this far. If you ever would have said, hey we'll make it to the Final Four, it's amazing," Lavender said. "The kids bought in. I think the seniors more or less wanted to win. They were tired of losing. They wanted people to know Centennial basketball is a thing. We're more than a football school.

Centennial's Koby Jones (#10) collides with Sunnyslopes Terrence Gilder (#5) while driving to the basket in a 5A semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Sunnyslope     9  9  6 18 – 42

Centennial      4  2  9 14 – 29

BOX SCORE

Sunnyslope – Bryson Mehwinney 13 points; Chris Orozco 12 points; Kyle Fischer 7 points; Jaran Whitfield 7 points, Ivan Palomar 2 points; Andrew Greb 1 point

Centennial – Koby Jones 18 points, 4 rebounds; Trent Washington 6 points, 7 rebounds; David Teibo 2 points, Jojo Rincon 1 point.