The Mingus Union High School boys basketball team’s seniors went out with a bang as Mingus defeated Lee WIlliams High School 57-50 on Feb. 5.
“It has been a fun year with these guys, we had a lot of seniors and a lot of great kids on the team,” Mingus coach Dave Beery said. “You realize a lot of these guys have huge lives ahead when the announcer listed their grade point averages and future plans.”
With the win, Mingus improved to 15-11 this season.
“I am really proud of what this team accomplished on senior night,” Beery said. “I am proud of our record this season and how hard the players have worked.”
Chaz Taylor led all scorers with 21 points while Chase Saczalski added 20.
“Chaz and Chase were very disruptive on the defensive end of the floor and did what they usually do on offense,”Beery said. “It is no secret that they are the guys for us and I thought they made good decisions down the stretch.”
Colten Sorensen scored 10 points, including four in the first quarter.
“I thought Colten had a gutsy performance tonight. He took some big shots and was very aggressive on both ends,” Beery said. “It is not something he always does but it is something we need as his offensive rebounds were huge.”
Mingus blitzed Lee Williams to open the game and immediately built a double-digit lead.
A Taylor 3-pointer gave the Marauders a 14-4 lead after three minutes, prompting a Lee Williams timeout.
“Our hot first quarter was huge because it gave us a leg up on a talented team like Lee Williams,” Beery said. “How we started was huge for us and I think we set the tone defensively in the first four minutes.”
The Marauders led by as many as 15 points early on and took a 19-9 advantage into the second quarter.
“I thought our defensive activity was exceptional in the first quarter,” Beery said. “We got our hands on a lot of basketballs and did not allow any easy passes.”
Mingus led for the entire second quarter and took a 30-21 lead into halftime.
“There are a lot of nerves on senior night so we were working on keeping them focused after the adrenaline wore off,” Beery said. “We had been flat over the last few games so it was important
to get a good start.”
Lee Williams and Mingus traded baskets in the third quarter with the Marauders leading 45-35 heading into the fourth.
Lee Williams opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to cut Mingus’ advantage to 45-43.
A controversial non-call for Lee Williams led to a technical foul given to Volunteers coach Cain Atkinson.
“A couple of silly things happened in the end so our message was to keep our composure in crunchtime,” Beery said.
“It is hard in those situations for teenagers
full of adrenaline but I thought they did a pretty good job tonight.”
Taylor converted both free throw attempts, increasing the Marauders’ lead to 47-43.
Fans from both teams rose to their feet in the final three minutes as Mingus and Lee Williams traded baskets.
Mingus led 49-47 with one minute left and closed out the 57-50 victory on the back of its defense.
“Lee Williams did a great job at denying anything easy in the first half and the fourth quarter,” Beery said. “It was important for us to get stops late in the game to keep the lead in tact,” Beery said.
Taylor scored eight of the Marauders’ 12 fourth quarter points, all of them coming from the free throw line.
While it was Taylor’s last game at Mingus, Beery said he will not rule out Taylor returning as a coach.
“Chaz has been at Mingus for most of my tenure here so next season will be weird without him,” Beery said. “Hopefully his mission will send him to Camp Verde so he can come coach our freshmen next year.”
“His leadership is definitelygoing to be missed and he was a great player off the court,” Beery said.
“Hopefully this is something they look back on positively for the rest of their life.”
The Marauders’ season ended on Friday, Feb. 8, as Mingus lost 72-50 to Saguaro High School.
