Jack Pierson is a Cronkite ASU journalism student assigned to cover Chaparral High School for AZPreps365.com

SCOTTSDALE— In a wild finish on Thursday night, Hamilton High failed to cool off the hosts,  Chaparral, in time to preserve a win. The Firebirds overcame a 13-point halftime deficit, led by center Michael Saba, who scored the game-winning basket to defeat the Huskies, 50-49.

The Firebirds' three-point shooting in the second half was the key to the comeback at Chaparral Gymnasium. The Firebirds went on a 16-6 run to begin the third quarter, and it was the strong interior defense and three-point barrage that led the charge.

“In the second half, we played a little bit tighter defense,” said Chaparral head coach Daniel Peterson. “We kinda got our offense going and pushed that ball in transition a little more. I think the pace of the game sped up which helped us, and we got some wide-open looks and we started knocking down shots.”

Despite having a substantial size advantage at the center position with the 6’8 Saba, Chaparral’s offense was extremely stagnant and struggled to find openings to score in the first half. Hamilton forced the Firebirds to take contested perimeter shots, where they found little success early.

Hamilton ran a 3-2 zone defense in Thursday’s matchup. The Huskies were fantastic in jumping into the passing lanes and getting steals. These steals were often converted into some easy fast-break scores and a nice cushion at half.

“We weren’t getting the penetration into their zone like we wanted to,” said Peterson. “They’ve got great athletes. They got a great zone that they always play, so we had to penetrate to get it to collapse and we weren’t doing that in the first half.”

The game tightened in the fourth quarter, with lead changes and ties occurring often. With less than three minutes remaining, Chaparral guard Ben Rosenberg hit his only shot of the game. It was a three-pointer to tie the game for the first time at 44.

Not too long after, another Chaparral player who had not yet scored in the game made an enormous three-point shot. Nick Tolson gave Chaparral the 48-47 lead for the first time with nearly a minute left, and the crowd roared boisterously.

“Everyday in practice we talk about when you have an opportunity, it’s your moment,” said Peterson. “We try to give that to our guys. You’re gonna have an opportunity, you’re gonna have that moment and it’s up to you to step up and seize that.”

No moment proved to be bigger than the final possession for Chaparral. The Firebirds inbounded the ball with 11.7 seconds, down 50-49. Saba got the ball in the paint near the basket and used the glass to score and give his team the late lead.

 

“It flew by,” said Saba. “I wasn’t thinking anything of it, just caught the ball and laid it up and I was ready to get back on defense. Winning the game, that’s important.”

Saba scored a team-high 15 points and had over 10 rebounds. The senior made his presence felt especially on the defensive end, where he blocked shots and made it difficult for the Huskies to score inside the paint.

“I would honestly say my defense was more important than the offense,” said Saba. “Block shots and get rebounds, those are important. That’s a team effort thing.”

The Huskies tried to answer the clutch shot by Saba, but Damion Denning’s potential buzzer-beater failed to drop in the hoop. Chaparral’s crowed erupted in joy after the entertaining game.

Chaparral is 1-0 (following a 1-3 preseason record) and will host Perry High School at home on Friday.