Sunnyslope’s Cinderella run ends in Open title game, Diné freshman helps Vikings to runner-up finish

PHOENIX

The inaugural Open Division boys title game featured nationally ranked Perry Pumas and the Sunnyslope Vikings.

Behind sophomore post Koa Peat’s 35 points, the Pumas proved its staying power with a resounding 74-58-win Saturday night at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

Sunnyslope entered the Open as the 10th seed behind a bevy of freshmen players, including Diné point guard John Mattingly.

“I thought we played great,” Mattingly said. “We played tough, and we never gave up. We played all four quarters until the end.”

Mattingly, who has roots in Dilkon, Arizona, finished with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting. He made all his points in the second half after going 0-for-3 in the first 16 minutes.

“I took like (three) shots, so I had to look for my shots in the second half,” the Sunnyslope freshman said. “Things started to open up more when we were driving in and kicking the ball out.”

Still, Mattingly felt that he needed to be a better leader.

“This is a learning experience, and it’s something that I don’t want to feel again,” he said.

Sunnyslope head coach Roy Portela felt his team started on the right foot trailing 16-10 after one-quarter of play despite being the underdogs.

But in the next period, Perry hit three treys while getting five points from Peat for a 36-18 halftime cushion. At the break, Peat nearly matched Sunnyslope’s total with 17 points.

“We came out decently and kept it close, but then they went on that run, and we were kind of doing stuff individually,” Portela said. “We weren’t really playing as a team. I thought we did more of that in the second half.”

Portela said Perry shot extremely well, making 26-of-44 shots from the field.

“They have some monsters, and when you get a team like that, you hope that they don’t shoot it as well,” he said.

As the 10th seed, Portela said they had a great ride during the Open Division playoffs, as most teams didn’t expect them to make it that far.

“Like I told our guys, one game doesn’t define us,” he said. “It’s a process, and the process of getting here was the most important thing.

“The guys played their tails off, and they played together,” he added. “They played hard, and they played smart, so this was a great ride.”

Portela said Mattingly played an integral role in his 25-6 team. For the first 30 games, Mattingly led the Vikings in scoring and assisted at 14.3 points and 4.2 assists per game.

“We knew he was going to be a good player before he enrolled here,” Portela said. “We were ecstatic that he chose Sunnyslope. He’s such a high IQ player, very cerebral.

“He changes pace, changes speeds very quickly and changes direction, and he always has a calmness about him,” he added. “He never gets flustered. Make or miss; he has the same expression.”

Portela said having Mattingly as the “floor general” makes his team go.

“He competes really hard, and the most important thing is he’s a great teammate,” the Sunnyslope coach said of his pupil. “He gets his teammates involved, and for his first season, he’s done great. He’s become a big-time player for us.”

Mattingly credits his parents’ influence with becoming one of the top freshman players in the Phoenix area.

“They’ve been really impactful,” he said of parents John and Jackie Shirley Mattingly. “They taught me a lot of stuff at a young age that most kids start learning at an older age.

“They were very good basketball players, so they know what they’re talking about because they lived through it,” he said.

When asked about his heightened basketball IQ and skill level, Mattingly said he always “played up” in his early years.

“Just from growing up, I always played tougher competition,” he said. “I played against faster, stronger kids, and over the years, I have gotten used to it, so it was just built into me.

“I’m just very fortunate that I was able to start my freshman year,” he said. “It’s very rare for a freshman to start at with a high-level basketball team.”

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