Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

Northwest Christian started its 3A boys basketball playoff game against Wickenburg Wednesday with about 12 of its worst minutes.

The home team and No. 14 seed battled back against its region rival, erasing a 19-point deficit and grabbing a third quarter lead. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, their final minute was as rough as that opening stretch.

With the game tied at 68 in overtime, senior guard Jonah Vega-Reid knocked the ball free to a teammate, then took the return pass for a layup that gave the Wranglers a 70-68 lead with 11.8 seconds left in overtime.

The Crusaders turned the ball over and had to foul junior Jackson Tillapaugh. He missed both free throws, but with three seconds and no time outs, Northwest Christian could not do better than a half court shot that fell short.

"Jackson Tillipaugh and Austin Sarver both had a heck of a game. All of our starters played their role well. I though Gage Hillshiem really did a good job running our team, and he took the player of the year in the conference (Andrew Augustine) and did a really good job on him," Wickenburg coach Dave Hodges said.

Northwest Christian edged Wickenburg for the regular season 3A title by a game. But the teams split in the regular season, each winning on the other's home floor.

The sudden rivalry this year shows how far the Wranglers have come in Hodges' first year.

"In summer ball — and summer ball doesn't mean a lot — we played Northwest Christian twice and we were in a state of disorganization. They beat us twice by a total of 85 points," Hodges said. "To me this is a real measuring stick because they're the gold star of our conference."

In the opening quarter, the visitors threatened to blow the Crusaders out. Wickenburg grabbed an 8-0 lead and built it to 19-5 on junior guard Kade Peterson's three-point shot at the buzzer.

Vega-Reid's three extended their advantage to 24-5. Northwest Christian (21-7) began the long climb back.

"They shot the ball unbelievably well. In the first quarter they were 80 percent from the field. They were on fire all around," Northwest Christian coach Jason Cook said.

Instead of its four-man senior core, underclassmen led the charge.

Junior forward Dylan Abraham poured in eight points in the quarter and had 10 at half. Sophomore point guard Cameron Adams set up two late baskets, a three from Abraham and a three-point play by senior forward Zach Johnson.

Now the deficit was a manageable 31-21 at the break.

"They took Andrew out of the game with the box-and-one (defense) and made it rough for him. Dylan has been hurt since the sixth game of the year. Getting him back was huge for us because he did everything really well," Cook said. "Cameron is that quick spark. He's really fast and can change the tempo with the game."

Adams kicked the comeback into overdrive in the third quarter, with the Crusaders trailing 40-27 early in the third. The sophomore waterbug drew a foul and made one free throw.

Then he pushed the pace and assisted on three straight baskets, a three by Abraham and two layups by senior Jonah Hamstra. The second layup came after Adams threw a bullet pas halfway down the court to the forward and drew the Crusaders within five.

"I knew we would come back and make it a game. We just came up one basket short," Cook said.

Wickenburg scored a bucket but Northwest Christian continued what ended up being a 24-7 run. Junior Dusty Inness had a three, Hamstra made one free throw and senior Andrew Augustine and Adams scored to give the Crusaders their first lead at 43-42.

Peterson regained thew Wranglers' lead but it was short-lived. Inness and Johnson scored and Tillapaugh picked up a technical, with Augustine hitting one of two. Abraham buried another triple to give the Crusaders their largest lead of the night at 51-44 and to bring the home crowd to its feet.

The reeling visitors needed to stop the bleeding and Peterson did so driving for a layup while being fouled and completing the tree-point play with 1.5 seconds remaining in the quarter.

For four minutes of the fourth quarter, the teams canceled each other out and Northwest led 62-56. Wickenburg battled back, as Tillipaugh scored five quick points. Then, after Inness made one of two, Vega-Reid drained a three to put the Wranglers back up with 2:16 left.

"Our kids were down six and fading and we reached down inside and started making plays," Hodges said.

The teams traded turnovers and the visitors went into a delay offense. Peterson made two free throws with 45 on the clock.

But with 14.8 seconds remaining, Abraham connected on yet another three to tie it. He finished with a game high 24 points.

Two Wickenburg free throws and a basket by Inness was it in overtime before Vega-Reid's decisive play.

Adjusting to life without Augustine, Hamstra, Johnson and Matt Huss will be difficult for Northwest Christian. They returned the program to its former contending status, leading the Crusaders to the 3A final four last year.

"Three of the four have been on varsity since they were sophomores. They've been the foundation of our program for the last three years. They work hard and are good examples for the younger kids," Cook said.