prep varsity boys basketball game summaries

Playoffs - Game 1 vs Precision
The first round of the 2A Metro Region playoffs put the #14 seeded Falcons on the road at the #3 seeded
Precision Panthers. Somehow the state's number one ranked team by the media, was ranked third behind
Northwest Christian and Desert Christian in the computers. The Falcons showed early that this game would not be
a replay of the game in November. Deep into the first quarter, Precision was struggling leading only 8-6. Then,
their patented pressure spurred a 14-0 run to close the quarter at 20-6. They would feed off the momentum the
rest of the way en route to their first round win. "We learned a lot about ourselves this season," said Coach
Stephens. "We know that we must get to work to prepare for next year. Many of our kids experienced high level
basketball for the first time." Justin Stephens posted 13 points in the loss. Josh Clothier had 12 points.

Game 18 vs Camp Verde
Camp Verde came ready to play though and found a tough Falcon defense waiting for them. The Cowboys were
gradually able to build a 25-12 lead going into halftime but were not feeling comfortable at all. A strong third
quarter run of 17-9 put the Falcons into a hole they could not get out of. On the Prep's Senior Night, the seniors
would combine for 31 points but Camp Verde was just too much. "We played them much better in stretches tonight.
In the first game, they simply scored too much," said Coach Stephens. "Tonight we gave ourselves a chance with
better defense. We just couldn't match them offensively," Justin Stephens had 22 points for the Falcons.

Game 17 vs Scottsdale Christian
For the second consecutive night, the Falcons worked hard to challenge a top ranked team. The State's #3
Scottsdale Christian was the guest and the Falcons were up to the challenge. Posting a strong first quarter, North
Pointe trailed by only 4, 16-12, at the end of one. Scottsdale Christian responded with a 16-7 run for a 32-19
halftime lead. The second half again proved to be the difference as Scottsdale Christian would finally pull away to
a 66-35 win. "We showed flashes of brilliance out there for a half tonight," said Coach Stephens. "Our problem now
is carrying that over to the second half. We must improve there," Justin Stephens led the Falcons in scoring with
22 points. Josh Clothier added 11 points for the Falcons.

Game 16 vs Northwest Christian
The state's #2 team hosted North Pointe and played a great half of basketball. For the first half the Falcons were
the story. Playing inspired basketball, the Prep trailed by just one at the end of the first quarter and found
themselves down 32-21 at the half. "We did a much better job of not backing down for the first 16 minutes. They
found themselves in a game with the best in the state and they stepped up," said Coach Stephens. The second half
was a demonstration of how good Northwest really is. They exploded for a 40-15 run to end the game and
defeated the Falcons 72-36. "That is a good team. I think they made that very clear tonight. That is where we want
to be though and we will keep working to get there," said Coach Stephens. Justin Stephens led the Falcons with 19
in the loss.

Game 15 vs Horizon Honors
The Falcons played host to Horizon Honors and held the visitors to 10 first quarter points. The Falcons only
countered with 2 of their own however and trailed by 8 after 1. The second quarter was much more offensive.
Horizon Honor's Center Forest Stolk had 6 of Horizon Honors' 21 points in the frame. They needed them because
the Falcons mounted a couple of runs in the quarter led by Josh Clothier's 10 points. Horizon Honors would build a
31-16 advantage and maintain that for the rest of the way for a 63-45 win. "The second quarter did us in. We
matched them well in the second half but could never get over the hill," said Coach Stephens. Josh Clothier led all
scores with 23 points for the Falcons. Justin Stephens added 17 points.

Game 14 vs Canyon State
The Falcons traveled to Queen Creek to take on Canyon State and it turned out to be a great one. The Falcons
would shoot 53% from the floor for the game and their hot shooting kept pressure on Canyon State all night long.
A tight 16-11 first quarter put the Falcons in position to challenge. That they did. A solid run to start the quarter
tied the game at 18 before Canyon State would finish the quarter with a run of their own to build a 31-26 lead.
The third quarter featured more the same as the Falcons refused to go away. Canyon State couldn’t add much to
the lead and entered the fourth leading 39-33. Canyon State would gradually build the lead out to 59-48 with four
minutes remaining. After a timeout, the Falcons changed defenses and mounted a furious run to get within 61-58.
A free throw violation with 9 seconds left gave the ball to the Falcons with a shot at overtime. This time, they would
get a great look at a 3 pointer but it would fall just short and Canyon State would escape with a 3 point win. “We
played our best game of the year and the great news about that is that we can play even better," said Prep Coach
Andrew Stephens. "I think the guys are finally understanding what we want to do here.” Josh Clothier hit a season
team high of 7 three pointers on his way to posting 25 points for the game. Justin Stephens had 21 points in the
loss.

Game 13 vs Phoenix Country Day
This was supposed to be reprisal of the 56-52 classic that opened the month of December for both teams. Instead,
Phoenix Country Day came out with a 20-6 first quarter run and never looked back. The Falcons played uphill the
rest of the night trying to get the deficit into single digits but never getting closer than 15. PCDS won 77-52. “This
was a tough one because we really never put our best foot forward," said Prep Coach Andrew Stephens. "We
should have been much better than we were tonight.” Josh Clothier led the way with 19 points and Justin Stephens
had 14 points in the loss.

Game 12 vs Valley Christian
The Falcons continued to take good strides in the right direction as they faced another top ten team in Valley
Christian. Again, another solid start for the Falcons against a top team was on the horizon. North Pointe put up 14
points in the quarter and bothered the Trojans enough to limit them to 22 points themselves. Valley Christian would
put in another solid quarter but North Pointe maintained contact trailing just 40-24 at the half. The Trojans showed
why they are the two time defending state champions in the second half yielding just 8 points to the Falcons as they
coasted to an 86-32 win. “They are still the team to beat and we saw that in the second half," said Prep Coach
Andrew Stephens. "I like the fact that we could challenge them tonight however. We just didn’t sustain it for four
quarters.” Justin Stephens had 11 points in the loss.

Game 11 vs Camp Verde
The Falcons trip up Camp Verde proved to be a noteworthy one. Playing another top 10 team, the Falcons
rebounded from a slow 17-9 start and posted a 20 point quarter and for only the second time all season, found
themselves in a battle with a region foe at the half. The 36-29 score was indicative of the tight nature of the game.
The Cowboys would push their lead out to 17 in the third finishing the quarter leading 62-47. The Falcons would
respond over the first 2 minutes of the 4th quarter, cutting the lead to 65-55 with six minutes to play. Then, the
Falcons simply ran out of gas and the Cowboys pulled away for the 89-65 win. “I can’t really explain the last six
minutes," said Prep Coach Andrew Stephens. "We had given ourselves a chance and we just did not finish. The
improvement is there but obviously, we still have some distance to travel down this road.” Justin Stephens led the
way with 23 points and Josh Clothier continued to score well with 21.

Game 10 vs Scottsdale Christian
With Scottsdale Christian's Coach Bob Fredericks looking for win number 500, the gym was packed. Early on, the
Falcons did not disappoint. Even though star guard Bo Barnes exploded for 11 of his 13 points in the first eight
minutes, Josh Clothier responded with 8 of his own and Scottsdale Christian only managed a 20-12 lead at the end
of one. The second quarter opened up with Scottsdale flexing their muscles with a 32-12 run that closed the door
en route to a 94-52 win. “They shoot the ball better than anyone else in the state," said Prep Coach Andrew
Stephens. "Coach Fredericks is a class guy and deserves 500 wins. We have to keep working to get better.”
Josh Clothier had 16 points in the loss.

Game 9 vs Northwest Christian
The state’s #2 team came to visit the Nest and they were ready to go right away. A truly impressive 27-11 opening
quarter put the Falcons in a tough hole and although they would battle all night, the Northwest front line of 6’7, 6’6,
6’4 simply wore down the Falcons. Northwest would limit the Falcons to just 14 points over the next two quarters en
route to their 90-40 win. “That is an excellent basketball team," said Prep Coach Andrew Stephens. "We did some
good things tonight against them but we obviously needed to do more. These though games will make us better in
the long run.” Justin Stephens led North Pointe with 17 points.

Game 8 vs Horizon Honors
With both teams sporting identical 5-11 records (counting tournament play), this game promised to be a good one.
The first quarter certainly started that way. The Falcons were led by Justin Stephens 8 points in the frame and
Forest Stolk countered with 8 of his own for Horizon Honors. Horizon was able to grab a 21-16 lead at the end of
one. Then, Horizon Honors exploded for a 21-4 second quarter and although they could never pull away from
North Pointe, they worked with a cushion for the rest of the game. The final, 69-49. “We kept playing hard which
was a good sign," said Prep Coach Andrew Stephens. "They had to have their starters in late because we had the
game down to 16 late. That was progress, but we have to eliminate the lulls we have right now in order to be even
more effective.” Justin Stephens led North Pointe with 21 and Josh Fitch added 19 points in the loss.

Game 7 vs Canyon State
The Falcons got right back to work as the New Year started with a date against Canyon State. Balanced scoring
was the name of the game for Canyon as they had only two players in double figures, yet all 13 players scored.
Canyon built a 25-14 first quarter lead but could only add 3 points to that lead over the next eight minutes. A
decisive 26-12 third quarter put the game away however and they would coast to a 92-58 win. “We challenged them
tonight for a half and then came out in the third quarter and just didn’t get it done," said Prep Coach Andrew
Stephens. "Every night in our region you have to play all 4 quarters and we were not able to do that tonight.” The
Prep's Justin Stephens scored 31 points while Josh Fitch added 16 points in the loss.

Game 6 vs Baboquivari
The Falcons finally got their first regular season win beating Boboquivari 67-39. Justin Stephens lead the Prep with
24 points and Josh Fitch added 19.

North Pointe played their best defense of the season in the first quarter holding Boboquivari to only 7 points.

The Falcons took advantage of a second quarter 24-8 run and never looked back. "We put some things together
tonight that we haven't been able to do all season," said Prep Coach Andrew Stephens. "Everyone stepped up and
played well. We have a long way to go, but this is certainly a big step in the right direction."

Game 5 vs Salt River
Looking to end a four-game losing streak, the Falcons came out strong in the first quarter against Salt River and
held a 15-7 lead. But Salt River responded with a strong quarter of their own in the second outscoring North Pointe
22-9 for a five point lead at the half.

"The second quarter is what got us in trouble," said Coach Andrew Stephens. "We didn't handle their pressure well
and give them credit, they played a solid second half,"

The second half was much more up tempo with Salt River building a 23 point lead at one point. The Falcons Senior
guard Justin Stephens ended with 28 points but North Pointe could not overcome the second and third quarter
lapses and lost 82-66. Josh Clothier added 16 for the Falcons.

Game 4 vs Valley Christian
The State's fourth-ranked Valley Christian Trojans hosted the Falcons and defeated North Pointe 107-41 and
displayed why they are picked by many to defend their state title. The Trojans powerful offense and tenacious
defense was too much for the young Falcons. Justin Stephens’ 18 points and Jake Gray’s 11 points were not
enough to withstand the storm. “They are where we want to be," said Coach Andrew Stephens. "This was a
measuring stick game and we obviously have more work to do.”

Game 3 vs Tempe Prep
The Falcons losing streak continued as they were defeated by Tempe Prep, 68-56. The first quarter was fairly even
as Tempe Prep took a four point lead, 15-11. The Falcons slipped in the second quarter and went into half-time
down 13 at 35-22. The Prep continued to struggle in the third quarter and were down 25 going into the fourth.
North Pointe roared back in the fourth and three times the Falcons had a chance to get the lead back into single
digits but couldn’t. “Tempe Prep played a solid game," said Coach Andrew Stephens. "We just have to play a full
32 minutes. Our last 12 minutes were excellent, we were 13 points better than they were. We have to extend that
kind of effort over the course of a full game,” Justin Stephens led the Prep in scoring with 27 points.

Game 2 vs Phoenix Country Day
Phoenix Country Day School spoiled the Falcons season home opener and defeated the Prep 56-52. PCDS
jumped out to an early 8 point lead but the Falcons stormed back into the game and by the end of the 1st quarter
the lead was only 5 at 17-12. The Falcons showed some poise and patience on both ends of the floor in the
second quarter and it showed. “Phoenix Country Day was a solid team tonight," said the Prep's Coach Andrew
Stephens. "They had a good game plan and their size hurt us all night. I thought we handled a lot of adversity
fairly well for only the second time out though." The lead was a mere 6 points at the half at 31-25. The Falcons
would post 17 points in the third quarter, their best of the season so far and enter the final frame trailing only by 2
at 44-42. The fourth was full of drama with the Falcons taking a brief lead and tying the game late. But the last
three minutes belonged to PCDS as the Falcons went cold. Justin Stephens posted a season high 25 points for
North Pointe and Jake Gray added 8 points and Josh Clothier scored 7 points in the loss.

Game 1 vs Precision
In their first year in the 2A, the Prep's first opponent was the State's #1 team - Precision. Not only is Precision the
Arizona Republic's #1 2A preseason pick, but 3 of the paper's top five ranked teams play in the Falcons 2A Central
League - Northwest Christian (#2), Valley Christian (#3), and Scottsdale Christian (#5). "This was a tough loss, but
there was a lot of good that can come out of a loss like this," said the Prep's Coach Andrew Stephens. "We now
know exactly what we need to do to get to the top. We played an elite team tonight. Our kids got tested against the
best in the state. This game will make us better." Senior Justin Stephens led the Prep in scoring with 17 points and
Jake Gray also chipped in with 9 points.