For the lady mustangs, while defense was the name of the game, Coach Fear accurately predicted that the first team to 40 wins – and Valley Center was indeed the first team to 40, with the final score being a ten-point deficit of 44-34. The Lady Mustangs fought valiantly with impressive defensive man-to-man coverage, but ultimately came up short after missing key high percentage shots underneath the bucket – shots that were a commodity all night long.

Callan Hall was an important force, hitting clutch shots all over the court that kept her team in the race until late in the fourth quarter. Brynn O’Hara also had a resounding block in the game, denying Valley an easy layup in transition.

Nex-Tech POTG: Callan Hall

H&R Block OTG: Brynn O’Hara

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The matchup between the two varsity boys’ teams was a barn burner, or rather, a brick burner, as Central was able to outgun Valley in the final minutes of the game for an improbable comeback win. Trailing by thirteen at halftime with a score of 35-22, the first half was all Valley who were getting open looks and hitting shots from behind the arc. All of that changed at halftime with Coach Modin telling me after the game he wanted to get out of the ways of his players and let them play fast and loose, which is exactly how they came out of halftime. Copious amounts of three-balls from Central from the hot hands of Kamryn Jones and Ethan Waters put Valley and Central all tied up at 46 going into the fourth quarter. In the final minutes of the game, a couple of key layups from Kaden Snyder propelled Central past Valley to etch an all-time classic into the walls of the Brick House.

Nex-Tech POTG: Kamryn Jones and Ethan Waters