Despite falling 58-48 in the championship game of the 19th annual Yvonne Johnson Memorial Shoot-Out to fellow 2A Central Section rival Northland Preparatory Academy, the Camp Verde High School boys basketball team walked away with a newfound confidence.
In what was the first time there had been a boys side of the tournament since head coach Dan Wall has been at the helm, the Cowboys [4-12] went on a morale-boosting three-game winning streak.
That streak was capped off with a 58-56 overtime win in the semifinal against Round Valley High School, but then the Cowboys ran out of steam.
“The biggest thing is I think it gave us a boost of confidence that we can compete with some of these guys and I think winning a couple close games is really good for us, just to give us that mental edge down the stretch,” Wall said.
Against the Spartans in the final, Camp Verde had more trouble defending than scoring, and the latter is a byproduct of the former, according to Wall.
“They ran their offense pretty well, they did a pretty good job out of the pick and roll, reading the defense and slipping and hitting roll guys,” Wall said. “And they were definitely tough to cover, so definitely give credit to them and how they executed offensively.”
In the third quarter, the Cowboys almost doubled their scoring output from the entire first half, but Northland Prep matched them shot for shot. A balanced scoring effort extended the lead to 47-29 by quarter’s end.
Camp Verde made things interesting in the fourth quarter behind a stronger commitment to defense.
With 2:56 remaining, senior guard Aaron Tracy netted two free throws to cap an 11-0 scoring run and cut the deficit to 52-46. The Cowboys would be down 54-48 with just under two minutes left as well, but it was too little too late.
“We keep preaching to the kids if you can get stops defensively, if you buy into what we’re doing we’re going to be very competitive this year,” Wall said.
The team had trouble in the final game of the tournament defensively, but nonetheless showed improvement in the prior three.
“I think where we improved most was our defense and just able to get stops and then getting our offense to work,” Tracy said. “I think its going to bring our confidence up from only having one win during the season right now, and just being able to comeback and getting three wins in a row felt good.”
Tracy and fellow Cowboy freshman guard Abe Gonzalez received All-Tournament honors as well as senior guard Colton Hibbert and senior forward Orson Wilkins for the Spartans.
Camp Verde opened section play with a 64-44 loss at Glendale Preparatory Academy on Jan. 6. It continued at home against Sedona Red Rock High School on Jan. 10, but results were unavailable at press time. The Cowboys next play Friday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. at home against Paradise Honors High School.
