The stage is set for senior night in Ahwatukee, where the Mountain Pointe Pride seek revenge from a loss to Desert Ridge.

The Pride, searching for their first win on senior night since the 2014-15 season, host the Jaguars Friday night at 7 p.m. in a battle for the 6A Central region title in their season finale.

Desert Ridge is first in the 6A standings hoisting a record of 11-6 (6-3 in region), while Mountain Pointe joins the contest with an 11-5 record (6-3 in region) in third in the 6A standings. Desert Ridge defeated the Pride by a score of 65-60 earlier in the season at home.

“This time around we have to do a better job of playing harder and playing better defense,” said Mountain Pointe head coach Kaimarr Price. “We’ve done that the past week and a half since the Brophy game. If we keep that up, we will be fine against anybody.”

There is optimism surrounding the Pride this time around. Mountain Pointe is 6-1 when playing games on its home court. On the other side, Desert Ridge holds a .500 record on the road at 5-5.

Jason Kimbrough Jr., senior team captain and three-year varsity competitor for the Pride, has never won on senior night.

“We lost my junior year, my sophomore year, and varsity lost when I was a freshman,” said Kimbrough. “In our home gym, with the fuel that we have seeking a revenge game, it’s going to be hard for us to fall down.”

A key factor for Mountain Pointe will be facilitating a way to get 6-foot-8 senior Zereoue Williams more involved, as he was held to just two points in the first matchup between the two schools.

“I need to attack the basket and call for the ball more,” said Williams. “My defense needs to be better as well. I was a little bit too slow on the closeouts last time around.”

When Mountain Pointe has kept their offense up-tempo this season, they’ve had success. The Pride haven’t been dealt a loss at home this season when scoring their average of 71.4 points per game.

“We’re not a great half-court offensive team, it’s just not our strong suit,” said Price. “Playing defense will allow us to get out and run and get more shots up to get at the pace we like to play at.”

Defense, in fact, has been an aptitude for both the Pride and Jaguars up to this point. Desert Ridge averages an opponent allowance of 58.4 points per game, and Mountain Pointe is a basket away with an allowance of 60.2 points per game.

With a win from the Pride and a Highland loss at Desert Vista, Mountain Pointe will secure the 6A Central region title. If both Mountain Pointe and Highland win Friday, first place will come down to a tiebreaker based on power ranking. The Pride currently hold the higher ranking at 6.

“We want to break this little [senior night] curse,” said Kimbrough. “There is no better team to do it than the team we have right now.”