COTTONWOOD — Xavier Ayala scored 15 points including two big 3-pointers in the second half, Ethan Baird added 11 and No. 15-ranked Mingus held off rival Flagstaff for a 57-51 win on Tuesday night.

It is the fifth win in six games for the Marauders (21-6, 9-3 4A Grand Canyon), which celebrated their seniors and likely secured a home state play-in round game next week.

Having lost 56-40 in the first matchup between these two clubs at the end of January, Flagstaff came out on fire to take a 17-6 lead after the first quarter. But Mingus head coach Austin Hudson made a defensive adjustment, moving away from his typical man-to-man defensive look and switching to a two-three zone.

The strategy worked as the No. 18-ranked Eagles (17-11, 7-5 4A Grand Canyon) struggled offensively for the remainder of the game.

“It’s something we went to the first time we played them. Man-to-man, Tyler Troxler is unbelievable player. We were having a hard time stopping him. We don’t play zone very much, so it’s not an area of comfort for us,” Hudson said.

Troxler had 26 points for the Eagles, including a 13 for 16 effort from the free-throw line. In fact, the senior shot more free throws on Tuesday night than the entire Mingus team combined as they were just 9 of 13 from the charity stripe.

The Marauders struggled not only staying with Troxler off the dribble, but on the flex cut Eagles players were making within their offense, giving up several baskets inside the paint in the first quarter. So, the defensive change was warranted.

“We lean on our experience, and we had five seniors [on the floor] so we could change things on the fly. We played with a lot of heart, and we dug ourselves a hole and made it interesting, but I’m glad we got the win,” Hudson said.

In the second half, a Baird jumper gave Mingus their first lead at 26-25 with 5:56 to play in a third quarter, then hit a shot at the buzzer to cap a 19-8 run by the Marauders in the period to give the hometown club a 37-31 lead and they never looked back.

Ayala said it was a good win, especially since the Marauders were just 24 hours removed from a difficult 51-47 loss to Prescott.

“It was a team win, we came out and played our hardest,” Ayala said, adding that he’s looking forward to state.

“We train so hard for everything. … We are ready to upset the whole state,” said the sophomore, who came off the bench Tuesday on senior night.

“He’s been our starting point guard all year. As a sophomore that’s a huge responsibility. I knew when I saw him in our youth camps five years ago that he was going to be a special player,” Hudson said. “I’m happy I get to coach him for a few more years, I think he’s going to be very good.”

Hudson said his team is focused on ALA-Gilbert North first before any state play-in round thoughts.

“Their ranking lies about how good they are, but I think they are pretty good. It’s a long drive. One at a time,” Hudson said.

UP NEXT

Flagstaff wrapped up the regular season and now awaits the state play-in round schedule, which should be released in the coming days by the AIA once teams wrap up their final games on the regular season schedule. Tipoff for those state play-in round matchups are set for Feb. 18.

Mingus travels to ALA-Gilbert North on Thursday, Feb. 12. Tipoff in their season finale is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.