Central has a brother tandem that play off each other, can get to the basket off the dribble, attack the rim without abandonment and just might have two of the best outside shots in Arizona.

Basha has a senior-sophomore combo in the backcourt that is about as dynamic as it gets, and they play with swagger, physicality, and skill.

When the two squads met Tuesday the guard play – between Central’s John and Grant Mattingly and Basha’s Mason Magee and Kingston Montague – was terrific and on fully display.

They put on a show, one that would make for a terrific Open championship game in March, in Basha’s 91-87 home win in non-conference action.

“We knew this was going to come down to the last possession,” John Mattingly said. “It was one of those games you want to be part of. We didn’t win it, but we probably had our best offensive night of the year. It was one of those back-and-forth games that was fun, but it was tough to lose.”

Central (18-2) was in the lead most of the game, but the Bears, who play in 6A, never relented. Even after seeing a 53-46 lead evaporate thanks to a 9-0 run by the Bobcats, Basha withstood it and took several leads before surging ahead for good with 1:24 remaining in the game.

“These are the type of games we want to play,” Basha coach Mike Grothaus said. “We play in a tough region, and there are several good games, but this was a great test. Some teams might struggle in a game like this down the stretch, but we never wavered. We executed down the stretch, so we are starting to put it all together.”

Montague finished with a game-high 30 points, with 18 of it coming in the first half, while Magee, who finished with 24, had a clear-out, drain-the-clock layup while splitting two defenders for an 87-84 advantage with 1:10 remaining.

“That’s what we expect from our lead guard,” Grouthaus said. “He had some mental mistakes that we need to clean up but he finished the game off the way of player of his caliber should finish it.”

Basha forward Desean Middlebrook finished with 21points and eight rebounds, none bigger when he went hard after it, ripped it away for the offense rebound to keep possession and add to the lead in the final few minutes.

“There are moments where you have to win (battle for rebounds) or you might not win the game,” said Middlebrook, who has been playing against the Mattinglys since elementary school. “It’s about effort and doing what you can for your team.”

By the time it was over – as Magee and Montague made five of six free throws down the stretch – the Bears were celebrating a highly-entertaining power-point freedom game.

“We can play some defense,” Middlebrook said. “They scored a lot, and they always do, but when we needed stops in the fourth quarter, we got them.”

Basha also had some help by an uncharacteristic unforced turnover by the Mattingly brothers. Trailing by one in the final two minutes, Grant passed the ball to John with no pressure. The ball was mishandled and went out of bounds to give Basha the ball back with a one-point lead.

Magee took advantage, as he isolated and drove to the basket. He was able to find his way to hoop from the right side and powered his way to the rim for a layup and an 87-84 lead.

One mistake in an otherwise fast-paced, shot-for-shot showcase of talent, and resilience.

“We played well for the most part but didn’t do enough at the end to win it,” Central coach Darren Bustos said. “We’re a 5A team that needs game like this to get better. It was good to come into an environment like this and be challenged by a well-coached, talented team.”

Box score

Basha 91, Central 87

Central  27 16 26 18-87

Basha    24 19 23 25-91

CENTRAL (18-2) – G. Mattingly 6-6-23, Rojas 4-0-9, Hernandez 0-0-0, Fahrendorf 5-0-10, Thomas 5-1-12, Mount 2-0-4, J. Mattingly 10-5-20. TOTALS: 32-12-87.

BASHA (11-6) – Leonard 3-0-7, Williams 0-0-0, Guilford 0-0-0, Magee 8-4-24, Rossling 0-0-0, Hernandez 0-0-0, Montague 9-9-30, Moore 0-0-0, Roberts 2-1-5, Lazor 1-2-4, Middlebrook 8-5-21. TOTALS: 31-21-91.

Halftime: Central 43, Basha 43. 3-pointers: Central 11 (J. Mattingly 4, G. Mattingly 3, Fahrendorf 2, Thomas, Rojas), Basha 6 (Magee 3, Montague 3). Free throws: Central 12 for 15, Basha 21 for 29.