Sara Abbott is an Arizona State University student assigned to cover Brophy College Preparatory for AZPreps365.

The saga of Brophy basketball's eight-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday on their Senior Night with the aid of Hamilton junior forward Jacob Enriquez’s thunderous dunk.

“Jacob made that dunk, and I knew we had the game after that,” Hamilton assistant coach Keith Walker said.

Enriquez, a 6-foot-6 forward,  slammed the ball through the hoop early in the fourth quarter, shifting the momentum of the game. The dunk  gave the third-ranked Huskies (14-4) the boost they needed to win the game, 41-34. 

“A lot was going through my head,” Enriquez said. “It was exciting because it was really loud and I dunked it hard.”

The fourth quarter started with a bang for the Huskies with Enriquez’s dunk, but the fourth-ranked Broncos (13-5) answered back. 

Within 30 seconds of each other, Brophy scored back-to-back 3-pointers from senior Joe Feeney and junior Kayden Davis, cutting Hamilton's lead to 36-34 with just 34 seconds remaining. 

“All good teams make a run,” Hamilton head coach Doug Harris said. “During that run, we just tried to keep our composure.”

As the Brophy crowd erupted, Hamilton remained calm and took advantage of scoring opportunities from the line. The Huskies made six of the eight free throws in the fourth, extending their lead at crucial moments. 

“We are very underrated because we aren’t big,” Enriquez said. “We hustle really hard and our defense is spectacular. It helps us win.”

The Huskies defense slowed the Broncos' aggressive offense of the Broncos from the start, helping the Huskies build a 21-14 halftime lead.

The key for Hamilton was finding the Broncos' strong shooters and understanding Brophy’s system. Enriquez credited the preparation heading into the game for their strong defensive start.

“We went over a lot of their plays in practice to understand their offense,” Enriquez said.

Brophy did not remain dormant long.

The Broncos offense ignited in the third. Senior Basil Ribakare  accounted for nine of Brophy's 14 points. Ribakare was the scoring leader for the Broncos with 11 points.

“We feel that when we play our best defensive game and really play for each other, everything falls in line,” Ribakare said.

Brophy head coach Matt Hooten credited the comeback to defensive adjustments.

“I thought we were able to generate some offense with our defense in some of those stretches and get some open looks,” Hooten said.

Despite the loss, the Broncos are focusing on the playoffs next week.

“This is the time of year where you are talking about stacking on a bunch of new stuff,” Hooten said. “Just sharpening up some stuff and getting ready for whoever that opponent is.”       

Final rankings and postseason brackets will be released by the AIA at 4 p.m. Saturday.