Boulder Creek sends 2009 out with a bang
Marc Buckhout ~ Managing Editor ~ 01/06/2010
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New Year’s Eve is known for its extensive fireworks displays, but it’s hard to believe that there was a show anywhere Thursday night that could match the one delivered inside at Cactus Shadows High School on Dec. 30.
Boulder Creek senior Ryan Crane and his Jaguar teammates were in charge of the pyrotechnics as they awed those in attendance for the championship game of the 15-team Great Desert Shootout.
Concluding a 4-0 romp through the tournament field, Boulder Creek sent 2009 out with a bang as Crane converted 7-of-8 three pointers in the first half, unleashing a 25-point barrage on a stunned Dysart Demons team. The Demons (8-4) entire team struggled to match Crane’s output as the Jaguars took a 53-29 lead to the halftime locker room, cruising to a 78-59 championship game victory.
“If I make one I think I’m hot,” said Crane, explaining his gunner’s mentality with a smile. “My teammates are always looking for me. I hit seven in a game earlier in the tournament so it was nice to top that tonight.”
While Crane would finish with eight long balls, and championship game MVP honors with 28 points, the entire team sparkled in the first half as the Jaguars shot a staggering 70 percent, on 21 – of – 30 shooting.
“We moved the ball so well tonight,” Jaguars coach Randy Walker said. “It’s rare that things look that easy, but we’re such an unselfish team. We shared the ball and knocked down a lot of shots.”
Crane got things going early, accounting for the Jaguars first nine points on a series of three triples, all from the left wing and corner. In carving up Dysart’s 2-3 zone defense, Crane’s long-range mastery eventually pulled the Demons defenders away from the basket and toward the perimeter. When that happened Boulder Creek countered by feeding All-Tournament selection Alex Dykhuizen in the high post. The senior center was equally adept at driving the ball to the basket or feeding teammates, cutting along the baseline, for a series of layups.
“It was fun to see what Ryan was doing,” Dykhuizen said. “Once he got it going we kept looking for him. We’ve been working on some new things with our zone offense and all of it worked well tonight.”
The second half proved anti-climatic. The Jaguars couldn’t match their first half output, but played well enough defensively to never allow Dysart to cut into the lead, maintaining a 20 point margin until the game’s final two minutes.
Dykhuizen said it’s the defensive end where the team has come the furthest during the first two months of the season.
“We know we can score and shoot with anybody, but our defense is what is going to make the difference for us,” he said.
After settling for a runner-up trophy at the Horizon Tournament, before Christmas, Crane said there was no comparison to the feeling of accomplishment following the win over the Demons.
“It feels way better,” he said. “That loss in the Horizon Tournament has made us work that much harder. We’re still a young team, but we’re confident and we just want to keep what we did here going into region play.”
In assessing his team, which improved to 12-2 overall, with its tenth win in their last 11 games, Walker said there’s a lot to like. The second year coach said his seniors, Dykhuizen and Crane, who earned all-tournament honors in both the Horizon Invitational and the Great Desert Shootout, have clearly been the leaders, but added that the supporting cast has been equally important.
“We’re getting contributions from everybody,” he said. “It’s a unselfish bunch that are a lot of fun to coach. Everybody plays a role. Weston (Newell) takes the defensive assignment of the other team’s top scorer most nights. Benji (Rutan) came off the bench in the quarterfinals when we were down nine and gave us a spark defensively to turn things around. (Ryan) Zettle has been so steady. He’s the epitome of what this team is all about. He doesn’t care about stats. All he cares about is winning and helping his teammates. I could go right on down the roster.”
The defending Northwest Region champion Jaguars will try and carry their hot play into 2010 as they begin the stretch run with a pair of home games against region rivals, Kingman and Goldwater on Friday and Monday respectively.
CACTUS SHADOWS
The Falcons will attempt to start anew following an up and down 2009 portion of their schedule. The host team in the Desert Shootout managed only one win, defeating Yuma Cibola 41-35 while dropping games to Dysart, 73-58 in the opening round, and Williams Field 65-51 on Dec. 29.
Cactus Shadows (6-8) opened 2010 with a home game against region rival McClintock on Tuesday (results unavailable at press time) before traveling to Prescott to take on Bradshaw Mountain Friday.