Fiesta Festivities

The Brophy Broncos (14-7, 3-3 Fiesta) look to finish strong in region play down the stretch with just 2 regular season weeks to go. Four games remain and all of them are against region opponents.

Tuesday Feb. 1 - Red Mountain (9-13, 3-4 Fiesta). It's Senior Night for Brophy vs. Red Mountain meaning it's the last home regular season game of the season. Seniors that start for Brophy are: C Sai Tummala, PF Rodrigo Furtado, and G Chris Pierre. Expect the seniors on the bench to get more playing time than usual (G Wilson Horn, F Sanders Windham, and G Justin Hamman).

The Mountain Lions might be the worst team in the Fiesta Region, but they've lost a handful of close games this year - defeats by 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, and 5 points. Red Mountain has lost 11 of their last 13 contests.

Key Player to Watch: PG Kevin Torres - averages 9.0 points/game and 7.0 assists/game (1st in 5A-I).

Friday Feb. 4 - at Hamilton (13-7, 3-3 Fiesta). The Huskies are a tough team to get a read on, they are very inconsistent. They've knocked off Desert Vista (17-6) twice, yet they've fallen to St. Mary's (8-13), Red Mountain (8-13) and Basha (10-11). Hamilton was on a 6 game winning streak before they met Brophy earlier in the season, but the Broncos halted their streak.

Luckily for Brophy fans who do not want to travel all the way to Chandler, this game will be broadcasted on the AIA's website http://www.aia365.com/

Key Players to Watch:

G Jack Cone - Cone will take a ton of shots, averages 18.4 points/game and 4.9 rebounds/game.

F Eric Jacobsen - Brophy was able to shut him down offensively in the previous meeting (2/13 shooting), but he averages 12.7 points/game, 10.7 points/game, and 2.4 blocks/game.

Brophy Soccer Poised for Deep Playoff Run

By Justin Janssen '11

After knocking off the Mesa Jackrabbits 6-0 on Senior Night Jan. 27, Brophy's seniors want one final chance for a championship after two consecutive playoff exits.

Of the 25 players on Brophy's roster, 13 of them are seniors.

But the players realize they have lost two straight playoff games. Last season Brophy fell to No. 3 San Luis in the first round of the playoffs.

In the '09 playoffs, the Broncos lost 1-0 to No. 4 Highland. Brophy only lost three games that season.

Striker Riggs Lennon '13 leads Brophy (19-1-1) with 21 goals and Sean Ayers '11 has scored 15 goals.

The Broncos have outscored their opponents 106 to 12 on the season.

Goalie Nate Sundermeier '12 has shutout the opposition in 14 games.

"We feel confident heading into the playoffs. It's our senior year, we're going all out," said Anthony Broglia '11.

Brophy earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs by passing Salpointe Catholic on the final day of the regular season.

The Broncos first playoff game is against No. 16 North Canyon Feb. 2 at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Deer Valley, AZ.

The team normally plays on turf at Brophy Sports Campus. "We're not used to playing on grass," added Broglia.

Google Maps estimates that the 17 mile drive will take 26 minutes from Brophy Prep.

Chandler and Mesa cheat sheet

Tuesday Jan. 25 home vs. Chandler: The Wolves are just 8-12 on the season and 1-3 in the Fiesta Region. Last 3 years: 8-20, 19-12, 15-15.

Key Players to Watch:

No. 4 PF Kisima Jagne 6'5 230: Averages 11.7 points/game, 9.8 rebounds/game, and 2.4 blocks/game.

No. 5 G Andre Norris 6'5 200: He's a big guard at 6'5, but he shoots at a low percentage. Leads team with 15.9 points/game, has 6.7 rebounds/game, 2.3 assists/game and 1.5 steals/game.

Friday Jan. 28 at Mesa: Brophy played the Jackrabbits a couple of weeks ago. Read about that game here.

See the last cheat sheet for them earlier as well.

Brophy turning around rivalry vs. St. Mary's

Brophy 54
St. Mary’s 38

By Justin Janssen ’11
THE ROUNDUP

St. Mary’s once dominated the basketball rivalry vs. Brophy.

They had won 10 of the last 13 meetings, but things are changing.

On Jan. 22, the story changed when the Brophy Broncos (13-6) beat the St. Mary’s Knights (8-11) 54-38 in front of Brophy’s largest home crowd of the season.

“St. Mary’s has usually had one or two Division 1 athletes,” said Brophy head basketball coach Mr. Tony Fuller. “That hasn’t been the case now; the talent’s evening out.”

Rodrigo Furtado ’11 led the charge for the Broncos right from the get-go by scoring eight of his game-high 16 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Brophy took control of the game with a 12-0 spurt giving them a 26-15 lead just before halftime.

The Broncos would not relinquish the lead they took and the game was not close the rest of the way.

“I thought the win was really good coming back from the defeat last night,” Mr. Fuller added.

The Broncos lost by a point to Desert Vista Jan. 21, while the Knights knocked off top ranked Pinnacle (5A-II).

St. Mary’s scored only 38 points, which is a season-low for them.

Chris Mason and Bryan Rhymes led the Knights with 12 points each.

Sai Tummala ’11 also scored 12 and amassed eight rebounds for the Broncos.

Tummala put his finishing touch on the game when he made a slam dunk with 6:00 remaining and the Broncos still leading by double figures.

Chris Pierre ’11 scored nine points, all on free throws.

Next up for the Broncos is a Fiesta Region game versus the Chandler Wolves Jan. 25 at home.

Season Defining Week Ahead

In this upcoming week Brophy plays the meat of their schedule. This week will define the regular season and the playoffs are looming. Brophy has proven they are a solid team, but they have yet to record a marquee win. The Broncos have lost some elite competition; No. 2 team (Corona Del Sol), the No. 3 team (North), and the No. 5 team in 5A-I (Mesa).

Last year around this time Brophy recorded two marquee wins (No. 1 Mesa and arch-rival St. Mary's). So here are the three games coming up. I will only be able to make the St. Mary's game because I am headed off to Manresa on the Kairos 109 retreat.

Tuesday Jan. 18 vs Hamilton (12-4): The Huskies come into play red-hot winning their last 6 games. Last three seasons: 18-10, 16-14, 21-11.

Key Players to Watch:
G Jack Cone (No. 5), leads Hamilton with 18. 1 points/game, also has 5.3 rebounds/game. Cone leads team with 17 steals and 10 three pointers made.

F Erik Jacobson (No. 21), averages 12.9 points/game, 10.5 rebounds/game, and 2.5 blocks/game.

Friday Jan. 21 at Desert Vista (14-5): The Thunder have lost their last two games in a row by a combined three points. They were on a 13-1 strike before that. Last three years: 11-15, 8-17, 26-5 (state championship).

Key Player to Watch:
SF Danny Powell (No. 4), leads team with 21.2 points/game and 10.5 rebounds/game. Powell shoots very high percentages (52% from the field, 44% from three's, and 90% from the line).

Saturday Jan. 22 vs Saint Mary's (hoopcoming): Even with plummeting enrollment, you could usually count on the Knights (7-9) being contenders. Basketball was the one sport that seemed to survive, but St. Mary's is reeling right now losing 7 straight games. This is a program with some great alumni, most notable Channing Frye, Jerryd Bayless, and Andre Ethier. Last three seasons: 18-10, 22-4 (state championship), 21-11.
Key Players to Watch:
G Chris Mason (No. 33), averages 18.1 points/game and leads team with 9.5 rebounds/game.
G Bryan Rhymes (No. 24), leads team with 19.8 points/game and 5.2 rebounds/game.

Brophy suffers first home loss in Fiesta Region opener vs. Mesa

Mesa 67

Brophy 58

By Justin Janssen '11

Mesa Point guard Jahii Carson put together another spectacular performance Jan. 11 vs. Brophy leaving spectators in awe of his talents.

Carson, an ASU commit, and the top player in Arizona, scored 32 points in a 67-58 victory at Brophy. He set the tempo for the game early by making a three point basket to start the game.

At the end of the first half, Carson made a buzzer-beater shot from beyond an NBA range three-pointer.

Later in the game on the fast break, he slammed the basketball down to the ground and then dunked the ball while it was in mid-air.

Brophy trailed by 11 points starting play in the second half, but they would recollect themselves.

Wilson Horn '11 made a bank shot as time expired in the third quarter giving Brophy their first lead, 45-44, since the first quarter.

The Broncos outscored Mesa 20 to 8 in the third quarter.

However, the Jackrabbits regrouped in the fourth quarter and outscored Brophy 22 to 13 in the quarter.

Sai Tummala '11 led the Broncos with 16 points and also amassed eight rebounds.

Fred Gammage '12 scored 11 for Brophy and had three assists, while Chris Pierre '11 scored seven and had four assists.

Brophy falls to 5-3 in powerpoint games, 10-5 overall, while Mesa is 9-5 midway through the season.

Next for Brophy is their fiesta-region opponent Red Mountain, on the road Jan. 13.

Here's some Jahii Carson Highlights

Mesa Cheat Sheet

• Last year, Brophy knocked off the Mesa Jackrabbits when they were ranked No. 1 in 5A-I.
  
• Mesa is 8-4 on the season, Brophy is 10-4, although the Broncos fell out of the top 5 after their loss to defending champs North.
  
• Key Player to watch: Jahii Carson. Carson has signed with Arizona State. He averages 30.4 points/game, 3.2 assists/game, and 2.6 steals/game.
  
• Carson doesn't have a ton of help on his team, Mesa doesn't have another player averaging over 10.
  
• Last year the Jackrabbits had a good post player in Blondy Baruti. Baruti averaged 8.1 rebounds/game and 4.1 blocks/game.
  

Brophy falls to two-time defending champions North

North 68
Brophy 57

By Justin Janssen ’11
THE ROUNDUP

The North Mustangs won state championships in the last two seasons; they won the 5A-II crown in 2009 and the 5A-I title in 2010.

North appeared to run away early with their home game Jan. 4 versus Brophy.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 13-1 lead and Brophy didn’t score their first points until 2:08 remained in the first quarter.

After Brophy head coach Mr. Tony Fuller called a timeout, the Broncos scored the next 10 points, narrowing the gap to 13-11.

That was the closest Brophy would ever get to leading in the game.

North followed Brophy’s run with one of their own, scoring the next 11 points, which pushed their lead to 24-11 with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter.

The Broncos had another answer for North right before halftime by closing the deficit to two again after an 11-2 run.

The third quarter saw little change in the game, the Mustangs outscored by the Broncos 13-12, which increased their lead to 44-38.

Because Brophy trailed in the fourth quarter, they picked up the tempo leading to increased point totals for both teams in the quarter.

In the quarter, North scored 24 and Brophy tallied 19 points; both were the highest totals for their respective teams.

Brophy had trouble containing North’s center, Alan Williams. Williams, who has committed to UC Santa Barbara, finished with a game-high 27 points 14 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Brophy’s center Sai Tummala ’11 and power forward Rodrigo Furtado ’11 matched up against Williams for much of the night.

Tummala accumulated 12 points, had four steals and blocked three shots, while Furtado scored six and blocked a shot.

Fred Gammage ’12 led the Broncos with 14 points and Chris Pierre ’11 chipped in with 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Following the defeat to North, Brophy will play Desert Mountain at home Jan. 7.

North Cheat Sheet

• The Brophy Broncos enters play at 9-3, placing 3rd in the McClintock Holiday Shootout. Read about it Here.
  
• Brophy is No. 4 in The Arizona Republic's power rankings, and No. 3 in power points (4-1), which decides playoff seeding.
• The North Mustangs are the defending 5A-I champions, but have slipped some (10-4) without Daniel Bejarano, The Arizona Republic's 2009-2010 player of the year.
  
• The Broncos fell to North in the first round of the playoffs last year (56-54) and also fell by two points in their regular season meeting.
  
• Key Player to Watch: C Alan Williams 6'7 260. Williams, a California Santa-Barbara recruit has become the top big man in Arizona. He averages 24.3 points/game, 16.8 rebounds/game (15th in the nation), 5.0 blocks/game, and 2.4 steals/game.

• The game is Tuesday, Jan. 4 at North High School at 7 PM.
  

picture of Alan Williams