Sand Devils season ends in state semis

By Candace Begody
Special to the Times

PHOENIX

For a moment there, it looked like the No. 1 Page Sand Devils were about to get past No. 5 Sabino and be on their way to Arizona’s 3A boys’ state championship game.

In the semifinal game Friday night at the Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Arena, the scores at the end of the first three quarters were 11-10, 23-19, and 37-35 in favor of Sabino.

Going into the fourth quarter, Page took its first lead of the night, 38-37, after knocking in a three-pointer. With about a minute left on the clock, Page gained the biggest lead of the night at 49-43.

The game and the chance to compete for the state title began slipping away, however, when Sabino’s Cesar Saenz knocked in a huge three-pointer to set his team on a scoring run to tie the score at 50 with less than a minute in regulation.

Sabino turned up the defensive heat and kept Page from scoring while also going on a five-point run – including three points at the charity line – to capture the win, 53-50.

“We had it,” said Page head coach Justin Smith. “We just made some mental mistakes down the stretch and it cost us the game.

“We needed to take care of the basketball, be aggressive offensively and we did a good job taking care of the ball for the most part,” he said, “but we didn’t attack the paint or get the ball inside as much as we would have liked.”

 

Six-foot junior guard Robert Smith ended the night with 18 points.

“He was pretty aggressive offensively,” the coach said of Smith’s performance, adding that senior guard Gabe Gomez also did his part. “Gabe made big plays, took care of the ball and led the team,” he said.

Page eliminated No. 12 Fountain Hills in round 2, then No. 8 Snowflake in the quarterfinals before being knocked out of the tournament.

The No. 5 Sabino Sabercats, a Tucson team, went on to finish as the state 3A runner-up.

Of the quarterfinal game against Snowflake, Smith said, “From start to finish, we were probably the better team going into it. They played like they had a chip on their shoulder. Snowflake didn’t have a chance with them playing like that.”

Junior guard Trent Holiday led that game in scoring with 15 points.

As for next year, Smith said, “I hope to see more of the same next year. That is the goal.

“I have some good ones coming back and I know they will come back hungrier,” Smith added.

Page will graduate its two team co-captains Gabe Gomez and guard Jordan Varner, in addition to guard Benjamin Alvarez, post player Evan Cambridge, and guard Ezra Larson.

“It’s not going to be easy to fill those shoes,” said Smith of Gomez and Varner. “They were really good players, really good leaders and always put team and winning above themselves and above their personal accolades.”

Page completed the season with an overall 29-2 record.

Of the overall season, Smith said, “The most rewarding season as a coach was seeing the boys become a team and to go from bunch of individuals to a team. They care about each other. They want what’s best for the team and put team above themselves.”

In the 2A boys bracket, No. 1 Alchesay was knocked out in the semifinals by No. 5 Rancho Salano Prep after a last-second, controversial shot. The score was 38-36.

Alchesay’s head coach, Kyle Goklish, could not be reached by press time Wednesday.

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