Valley boys reach quarters by turning back Fort Thomas

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz.

For three quarters, the Valley boys’ basketball team matched Fort Thomas shot for shot.

But when it mattered most, the Pirates played above its 11th seed as they advanced into the quarterfinals of the Arizona Division IV boys state basketball tournament.

The Pirates nailed three big treys in the fourth quarter and pulled away from the No. 6 seed Fort Thomas Apaches with an entertaining 68-59 win at the Prescott Valley Events Center last Saturday night in Prescott Valley, Ariz.
“Everybody played their hearts tonight,” Valley coach Marcus Forrester said. “You could see it on the court and you can hear it their voices. This was just a great win for Valley High School.”

The win sends the Pirates into its first appearance in a state quarterfinal game. They will play No. 3 Pima at the event center in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Tip off is scheduled for today at 1:30 p.m.

“I can’t be more proud of that team,” Forrester said. “We’ve just had an amazing season and the kids are on a great run.”

Forrester said this year has been about being the giant slayers of the game. During the regular season, the Pirates got a small measure of revenge from the teams they lost to the previous year.

“Every time a big comes to us we’re going to chop them down,” Forrester said. “We beat El Capitan and they went and won our section. That was a big victory to get us where we are and to actually be in the playoffs.”

In addition to El Capitan, the Pirates evened the score with Window Rock, Grand Canyon and St. Johns earlier this year.

“We were neck and neck with St. Johns until the honey badgers in us just took over,” Forrester said.

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