James Franks is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Higley High School for AZPreps365.com

The first three quarters of the Higley boys basketball game against Paradise Valley on Tuesday was a back-and-forth affair with multiple lead changes, dramatic 3-point shooting and physical play. That all changed in the fourth quarter when Paradise Valley took advantage of Higley’s mistakes on defense and outscored them 21-7 en route to an 80-68 victory.

The Trojans (6-5) held Higley (7-7) to one made shot in the final quarter.

Senior forward Moses Demalek scored 30 points for the Trojans from all different parts of the court. He was able to make multiple plays off of Higley’s errors. 

“They (Higley) gave me a lot of a lot of options,” Demalek said. “I got my teammates involved as well, so it felt like they had to pick their poison against me.” 

The first quarter of the game saw a five-point Paradise Valley lead shrink to one by the end of the quarter. 

By halftime, the Knights were able to earn a one-point lead of their own. In the third quarter, Higley was almost able to extend their lead to double digits but had to settle with a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Paradise Valley and Higley both executed from the 3-point line where they completed a total of 14 3-pointers in the first half alone.

Higley coach Kenneth Drake was not surprised with the number of 3-pointers.

“We practice taking a lot of shots,” he said. “We're comfortable with our guys shooting the ball. We want our guys taking the right shots.” 

One of those 3-pointers sent the crowd of parents at Higley High School into a cheering frenzy when sophomore Dallen Nelson hit a buzzer-beating shot at the end of the second quarter. 

Paradise Valley coach Cory Bardet did not allow Higley’s accurate shooting to cause his players to lose motivation. Demalek and his teammates received some inspiration from their coach in the locker room. 

“We (the team) just stuck with it,” Bardet said. “They (Higley) came out hot and that happens in basketball.”

The second half consisted of more physical play as both Higley and Paradise Valley drove into the paint often for layups.  

The aggressive strategy of play caused the Knights to get into foul trouble. They sent the Trojans to the free-throw line nine times during the second half.

Bardet was proud of his team’s confidence. 

“We felt well about how we were playing,” he said. “We felt good about our strategy and we just stuck to it. We preach ‘trust the process’ and the guys trusted it. We knew that it would eventually wear them (Higley) down a little bit and I think it definitely did in the second half.”  

For Drake, he plans to teach his players some important lessons before the next game. 

“Defense, defense, defense,” he said. “The smaller details add up. We had some miscommunication (throughout the game). We gotta talk better and it comes out on the defense.”   

The loss puts Higley in second place of the 5A San Tan region. The Knights' next game is at 7 p.m. Thursday when they host Maricopa (2-10).

Paradise Valley sits in fifth place of the 5A Northeast Valley region. The Trojans' next game is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at North Canyon (8-7).