Deer Valley beats Sahuaro in OT to win boys 4A state basketball championship
Jed Dunn waited until the end to get his root canal, but after winning the 4A Arizona Interscholastic Association Championship, he wants more – that is, root canals. And state titles, too.
“I want to do it more now,” Dunn said with his new-look smile. “I want another next week.”
Dunn, on the day of getting a root canal procedure, led the No. 3-seeded Glendale Deer Valley Skyhawks to the 4A boys state basketball championship after beating No. 4 Tucson Sahuaro 63-61 in overtime, securing the school’s first-ever gold ball Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Seniors Tyler Wenk and Travis Vazquez led the way with 13 points each.
Deer Valley was up 52-46 with 3:25 left to play in the game before the Cougars staged a late comeback, capped off with senior Nick Ponds’ driving layup at the end of regulation to tie it at 53-53.
But a trio of seniors finished the job in overtime as Wenk and Vazquez, as well as big man AJ Ajawin, all contributed to push Deer Valley ahead – just one year after coming up short to Peoria in the same gym. It was the school’s fourth attempt at winning a title since 2018.
"It's hard to describe," Dunn said. "We've been in a state championship before, and I feel like we might have been slight favorites, so there was a little bit more pressure in this game than the other ones. I don't know if it's sunk in yet."
Unexpected hero
It was Deer Valley who jumped out to a lead as they held an 11-9 advantage at the first timeout break. Wenk started out hot, scoring seven of those points. It was the beginning of a great night for the senior, who ended up with 13 points and nine rebounds, with seven coming on the offensive end.
In a game where sophomore twin guards Sergio and Simon Gonzales were expected to be the ones making plays, it was Wenk who stepped up when his teammates were struggling.
“I’ve been with Tyler since he was in third grade,” Dunn said. “I coached all his brothers, and I’ll coach his other brother, who’s in eighth grade right now. So the Wenk family has been involved with the program for a long time. He’s been practicing and hitting shots really well lately. Free throws have been phenomenal. His work ethic is never in question. He does a lot for us.”
Also stepping up was Vazquez, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since he’s been great all season long.
In addition to his 13 points, he added four rebounds and two assists. He was 1-9 from 3-point range, but his one make was arguably one of the most important baskets of the entire game. The shot was the first made basket of the overtime period, coming right after Deer Valley had missed two free throws, and it busted the Skyhawks out of a rough patch of offensive play.
The team took the lead from there, 56-53, and never looked back en route to the state title.
Second-quarter sequence
Although this game came down to the wire and eventually went into overtime, there was a key turning point in the second quarter.
After falling down by eight points midway through the quarter and with the offense stagnating, Deer Valley was in need of a jolt. Not much was happening for the Skyhawks outside of Wenk. So Dunn dialed up the defense.
And then Simon Gonzales made his signature mark on the game.
Following a pair of made baskets to cut the lead down to four, Gonzales drove hard to the hoop and laid it up, drawing a foul call in the process. He sunk the free throw. On the very next possession, Gonzales, sensing an opening, drove hard again for another lay-up, falling to the ground but with no whistle.
Still, the damage was done as the lead was erased and Deer Valley led 34-33 with 1:07 left in the second half.
Although Simon shot just fine, going 2-3 from the field, Sahuaro’s guards did a great job of limiting his shot quantity. He finished with seven points, two rebounds and two assists. But his brother, Sergio, struggled even more.
Girls' 4A Title news: Salpointe Catholic beats Mesquite to claim another 4A girls' basketball title
It was part of an overall tough night on offense for the Skyhawks, which was 3-21 from 3-point range, but they overcame it.
“We didn’t shoot well at all and were still able to win the state championship,” Dunn said. “That’s a credit to the team, we never stopped working. We’ve played from behind a lot of games this year and they never stop. They’re a great group of kids. I’m super proud of them.”
Although the Gonzales twins didn’t play as they hoped they would, they’re state champions. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.
“It means everything,” Sergio said. “We’ve been talking about it ever since we lost last year. We made it a mission to win. We got each other better every day at practice. It’s special. I love my bro.”
“It’s incredible knowing on the court you have someone you can trust 100 percent, knowing what they’re going to do, they know what you’re going to do,” Simon added.
Fourth time's the charm
Deer Valley has come close before. In 2018, they lost to Phoenix Sunnyslope in 5A. There was 2019, when they lost to the Mike Bibby-coached team at Phoenix Shadow Mountain. And then last year, when they lost to Peoria.
The fourth time's the charm, as they say. Dunn was quick to deflect the limelight off himself.
“I’m more excited for the boys,” Dunn said. “It’s never really been about me. It feels good, but I’m really thankful that they were able to get one. I feel like they earned it. We talk about we don’t deserve anything. Sahuaro really made us earn it. They’re really good.”
While Dunn didn’t want the focus to be on him, his players were ecstatic for their coach to finally get on top after many bites at the apple.
“It means everything because we love Coach Dunn,” Simon said. “Coach Dunn is my favorite coach. Coach Dunn is our world. It’s so good to get him one because he’s worked so hard. He’s earned this.”
“It’s big-time, definitely for coach,” Vazquez added. “He’s been here multiple times with multiple talented teams. So I know he really deserved it. We’ve been working ever since the day we lost. We went into the locker room, we all said we’re going to be back here. That was our goal the entire year. We’ve been grinding every single day in practice. We all believed in it, and it happened.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Deer Valley beats Sahuaro 63-61 in overtime to win 4A state title
