Turnovers were rampant in the first half Thursday by both Valley Vista and Pinnacle as each team sought to hit the .500 mark for the young season. Both committed miscues numbering in the low teens the first 16 minutes that saw the Valley Vista hold a a 34-30 lead.

Valley Vista cured its turnover ills in the second half and Pinnacle did not. The result was a strong final four minutes by the Monsoon in posting a 71-60 victory over the Pioneers in a 6A non-region game at Pinnacle. Valley Vista bounced back from a Tuesday loss at Sunnyslope and is now 3-3. Pinnacle fell to 3-5. Valley Vista turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, but just two the rest of the way (none in the fourth quarter).

Senior forward Elijah Thomas came through with a strong finish for Valley Vista scoring eight points in the final 2:25. The Monsoon grew a 55-52 lead over the final four minutes to its biggest (11 points) as time wound down. Thomas finished with a game-high 20 points.

Setting up teammates for buckets and contributing a trey to begin the fourth quarter was sophomore guard Aadem Isai. Isai finished with 13 points and fed Thomas for one of his two dunks in the final minute. Steady senior guard Dwight McNight chipped in with 11 points.

"Our big three came through tonight," Valley Vista coach Ben Isai said. "Elijah's been in a little bit of a slump so it was nice to see him back. Aadem made big plays and Dwight is tough to stop when he takes it downhill.

"(Pinnacle) capitalized on mistakes we made in the second and third quarter. We got the momentum back in the fourth quarter. Hopefully momentum shifts for us going forward."

Pinnacle had its moments and its share of the lead in the contest. The Pioneers led 16-10 after the opening quarter and took a couple brief leads in the third period. The Pioneers trailed by just three (50-47) heading to the fourth quarter. But with at least five turnovers in every quarter (22 unofficially for the game) it was hard to make any substantial runs. Other than Aadem Isai's three, the Monsoons other six baskets in the fourth quarter were layups in transition or dunks.

Out-of-state transfers Asher Raquiza (Washington) and Dorian Singer (Minnesota) led three Pinnacle players in double figures. Raquiza finished with 16 points. Most of his scoring was from the free-throw line (11 points). Singer (14 points), in his second game of the eight Pinnacle has played,  came off the bench offering the quickness and strength to take it to the basket and finish. Sophomore Bryce Ford added 10 points.