Austin Hurst is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Brophy Prep for AZPreps365.com

The fans in Brophy Prep’s Robson Gymnasium held their breath as Cameron Holmes, a junior shooting guard for Millennium, threw down an alley-oop in the final seconds sealing the win for the Tigers. The play capped off a tough back-and-forth battle and allowed Millennium to pull away for a victory over Brophy Prep.

The No. 17 Broncos hosted the No. 3 Tigers in the final game of the regular season. Both teams were looking to improve playoff positioning, but a win would help boost their seeding possibilities and momentum heading into the postseason. 

Brophy started strong, leading 28-25 at the end of the first quarter, but Millennium surged ahead in the second, outscoring Brophy 28-15. Brophy’s offense struggled to find a rhythm, managing only 15 points in both the second and fourth quarters.

Brophy’s record dropped to 10-8, while Millennium improved to 14-4 in power point play.

Heading into Wednesday’s game, Brophy aimed to close the season with a win. Both teams had posted 2-1 records since their previous matchup in Goodyear, each losing to No. 2 Sunnyslope. During this stretch, Brophy averaged 78 points per game, while Millennium averaged 77.

Offense wasn’t the focus of the game; instead, Brophy aimed to limit scoring opportunities for Millennium’s top players, Cameron Holmes and Kingston Tosi. Brophy’s coach, Matt Hooten, noted, “They’re not as deep as last year, so pressure on defense could lead to foul trouble for them.”

The game started with Millennium exploiting Brophy’s zone defense, with TJ Amundsen hitting two of the team’s six three-pointers in the first quarter. When the Tigers couldn’t find open shots, they attacked the paint.

The Broncos struggled grabbing defensive rebounds, with Coach Hooten commenting, “Playing a different defense made it harder to secure rebounds out of the zone. We’ll go back to the drawing board for the next opportunity.”

Despite this, both defenses closed the first quarter strong, with a buzzer-beater layup from Kai Hogan giving Millennium a 13-11 lead. 

Brophy switched to man defense in the second quarter, limiting Millennium’s three-point attempts to just four. With three travel calls against Millennium and a missed pass leading to a contested layup from Daylen Sharper, Brophy cut the deficit to three by halftime.

Both teams were below their usual scoring averages at the break—Brophy had only 22 points, compared to their usual 32, while the Tigers scored 25, below their average of 38.

Millennium's physical defense persisted in the third quarter, though Sharper continued to make an impact. The Tigers' offense picked up, attempting eight three-pointers in the quarter. When asked about his mindset during the game, Sharper said, “I’m definitely trying to work on just the next-play mentality. I feel like there’s no good in hanging your head on the last play—just move on to the next play.”

A five-point run from Cameron Holmes extended Millennium’s lead to nine by the end of the third. Their steady shooting and strong defense left Brophy scrambling to catch up.

The fourth quarter saw a slow offensive push, but Sharper continued to capitalize on his opportunities. Brophy pulled their starters with around 45 seconds left, leading to an alley-oop from JT Amundsen to Cameron Holmes, sealing the 56-45 win.

Sports Information Director Steve Shaff reflected: “It was an exciting game. [Brophy] had a chance in the second half, but Millennium made a nice run. It’s just another opportunity to learn and move forward to the playoffs.”

Earlier in the season, the two teams had faced off, with Millennium defeating Brophy, 93-79, in a home conference game.

With the latest win, Millennium finishes the regular season 14-4 while Brophy ended 10-8. The teams now shift focus to the playoffs with the first round set for February 19.