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When No. 1 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, AZ) took a 17-4 lead over No. 12 CIA-Bella Vista (Phoenix) in the Nike EYBL Scholastic Championship, there was still plenty of time to play. But things looked bleak for the Bears against the top-ranked team, not only in the elite youth league but in the country.
It didn't take until the fourth quarter for Bella Vista to catch up. It didn't even take until the half. Behind a surge from point guard Miles Sadler, the Bears pulled the deficit to only two points by the end of the first quarter. With the control of Sadler, the size of Amadou Seini, and a pair of missed dunks from AZ Compass Prep, CIA-Bella Vista won 69-65.
“I think this is just the most resilient group in the country," head coach Derek Wright Jr. said in an interview on the FS1 broadcast after the game. "(We're) pouring confidence into the everyday… They just believe, believe, believe, believe."
Sadler had 24 points, six assists and five rebounds. He started rolling in the first quarter when Compass led 17-4. The five-star West Virginia signee hit a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to a more manageable number. Bella Vista defense tightened up, and as the quarter came to a close, he hit another 3 — ending the first quarter on an 11-0 run, nine of which were from Sadler. Suddenly, the score was 17-15, and Bella Vista had momentum.
Momentum is not quantifiable. Many argue it doesn't exist. There's no true evidence that it does. But tell that to Bella Vista, who outscored AZ Compass Prep by a point in the second quarter despite Sadler sitting for most of the frame due to foul trouble. And now it was time for the third quarter, which the team considers itself a juggernaut.
They had trailed at the half consistently throughout this three-game playoff series, but they never lost.
"Every day I came out and told my team we’re a third-quarter team," Sadler said on the broadcast, "… (There’s) no one in the country that can mess with us in the third quarter."
They ended the third with the lead. AZ Compass Prep turned up the pressure on defense but did little to help themselves.
Early in the quarter, trailing 56-52, Compass stole the ball from Sadler and ran down the court on a fast break. Instead of finishing with a layup, they tried to dunk the ball with authority. It bounced off the iron, and Bella Vista moved the ball in transition, quickly scoring. Instead of pulling the deficit back to two, it shifted to six.
Then, with two minutes left and Compass trailing 64-57, Compass got another opportunity in transition. The ball handler got Paul Osarunyi in the air. Instead of pausing and laying it in, or passing to a teammate across the rim, he went up for the dunk. Osaruyi, ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 center and No. 4 player in the class of 2027, got a clean block. Once again, Bella Vista got the ball downcourt quickly and scored. A five-point game turned into a nine-point game.
Osaruyi finished with six points, five rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Seini, a 7-foot-2 senior center, had 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Off the bench, Liam Mitakaro had 16 points in 18 minutes.
Compass Prep was led by Kaden House, who scored 23 points and had five steals, and Demarcus Henry, who had 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Bella Vista ties a bow on an incredibly impressive season, with wins over Super 25 teams including SPIRE Academy (Geneva, OH), Dynamic Prep (Irving, TX) and Montverde Academy (FL). With this win over AZ Compass Prep, the Bears make up for an early January loss to the Dragons and affirm themselves as one of the best teams in the country.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Bella Vista takes down top-ranked AZ Compass Prep for EYBL title
Continue reading...
It didn't take until the fourth quarter for Bella Vista to catch up. It didn't even take until the half. Behind a surge from point guard Miles Sadler, the Bears pulled the deficit to only two points by the end of the first quarter. With the control of Sadler, the size of Amadou Seini, and a pair of missed dunks from AZ Compass Prep, CIA-Bella Vista won 69-65.
“I think this is just the most resilient group in the country," head coach Derek Wright Jr. said in an interview on the FS1 broadcast after the game. "(We're) pouring confidence into the everyday… They just believe, believe, believe, believe."
Sadler had 24 points, six assists and five rebounds. He started rolling in the first quarter when Compass led 17-4. The five-star West Virginia signee hit a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to a more manageable number. Bella Vista defense tightened up, and as the quarter came to a close, he hit another 3 — ending the first quarter on an 11-0 run, nine of which were from Sadler. Suddenly, the score was 17-15, and Bella Vista had momentum.
Momentum is not quantifiable. Many argue it doesn't exist. There's no true evidence that it does. But tell that to Bella Vista, who outscored AZ Compass Prep by a point in the second quarter despite Sadler sitting for most of the frame due to foul trouble. And now it was time for the third quarter, which the team considers itself a juggernaut.
They had trailed at the half consistently throughout this three-game playoff series, but they never lost.
"Every day I came out and told my team we’re a third-quarter team," Sadler said on the broadcast, "… (There’s) no one in the country that can mess with us in the third quarter."
They ended the third with the lead. AZ Compass Prep turned up the pressure on defense but did little to help themselves.
Early in the quarter, trailing 56-52, Compass stole the ball from Sadler and ran down the court on a fast break. Instead of finishing with a layup, they tried to dunk the ball with authority. It bounced off the iron, and Bella Vista moved the ball in transition, quickly scoring. Instead of pulling the deficit back to two, it shifted to six.
Then, with two minutes left and Compass trailing 64-57, Compass got another opportunity in transition. The ball handler got Paul Osarunyi in the air. Instead of pausing and laying it in, or passing to a teammate across the rim, he went up for the dunk. Osaruyi, ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 center and No. 4 player in the class of 2027, got a clean block. Once again, Bella Vista got the ball downcourt quickly and scored. A five-point game turned into a nine-point game.
Osaruyi finished with six points, five rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Seini, a 7-foot-2 senior center, had 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Off the bench, Liam Mitakaro had 16 points in 18 minutes.
Compass Prep was led by Kaden House, who scored 23 points and had five steals, and Demarcus Henry, who had 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Bella Vista ties a bow on an incredibly impressive season, with wins over Super 25 teams including SPIRE Academy (Geneva, OH), Dynamic Prep (Irving, TX) and Montverde Academy (FL). With this win over AZ Compass Prep, the Bears make up for an early January loss to the Dragons and affirm themselves as one of the best teams in the country.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Bella Vista takes down top-ranked AZ Compass Prep for EYBL title
Continue reading...
