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PRESCOTT VALLEY — Josh Hawkins capped off his 13-point effort with a 360-degree slam dunk in the fourth quarter to punch No. 3-ranked Paradise Honors’ ticket to the state Final Four with a 62-27 win over Northwest Christian on Tuesday afternoon.
Hawkins said after the game he’s worked on the dunk plenty of times in practice over the years, but the 6-foot-3 senior made it look effortless Tuesday.
“I got it one time in a game, but it probably didn’t look as good as this one,” Hawkins said with a big smile.
It is the sixth straight win for a Panthers (23-5, 9-1 Metro) club that used a 22-8 first-quarter run to quickly put No. 11 Northwest Christian in their rearview mirror.
Paradise Honors head coach Zach Hettel, who has led the Panthers to 16 wins in their last 18 games, said he preaches playing great defense without reaching and fouling, something his squad was able to accomplish Tuesday at Findlay Toyota Center.
“Right now, where we are at, if we can get to halftime without any real foul issues, then it’s going to set us up for the second half,” Hettel said. “The last two weeks as we went into the playoffs we’ve been talking about, ‘Don’t foul, don’t foul. Play without fouling’ … We’re so long, we don’t have to reach. … Just be long, and not foul, and obviously we did that.”
Hettel added it’s hard for him to “nitpick,” but taking a halftime lead against Northwest Christian and having only three team fouls set them up for an aggressive second half.
“Being able to go into the half up 15, and then continue to put pressure on them, and probably even more pressure because we’re playing without fouls, is good,” Hettel said.
Offensively, 6-foot-10 sophomore center Matur Dhal led the Panthers with 15 points, while Roy junior forward Eze scored 10 and senior wing Jon Jackson chipped in with eight points on 4 of 5 shooting from the free-throw line.
Jalent Scott, who had just three points, said the key to Tuesday’s victory was “definitely playing defense,” and if the Panthers continue to do so this weekend, a state title could be in their very near future.
“We started talking about during the summer. This team is so nice, we can go get that ring, win a state championship. That’s our main goal right now,” Scott said.
UP NEXT
Paradise Honors will face No. 2-ranked Valley Christian in the state semifinals Friday, Feb. 22 at Gila River Arena in Glendale. Valley Christian easily handled Wickenburg 82-51 in their quarterfinal matchup Tuesday.
Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m.
This is the region rivals' fourth meeting. Paradise Honors won the last two.
CRUSADERS
For Northwest Christian (20-10, 8-2 West), their season comes to an end after finishing second in the 3A West region. Junior guard Eddie Van Sant and Junior guard Dustin Inness each scored eight points hitting two 3-pointers a piece in the loss.
The Crusaders played their best ball to get this far, winning eight of their last nine games. They upset No. 6 Gilbert Christian 61-52 on Feb. 16.
MOVING FORWARD
The Panthers are seeking retribution after a 67-61 loss to Alchesay in the 2A state semifinals a year ago.
If Paradise Honors hoists the state championship trophy this Saturday, it will be a year ago to the day that they lost to Alchesay - Feb. 23, 2018.
Brian M. Bergner Jr. is news/sports editor for The Daily Courier of Prescott News Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and SoundCloud at @TheEditorDesk. Email bbergner@prescottaz.com or call 928-445-3333, ext. 1106.
