“The first quarter was flat. We didn't handle the pressure very well, so it gave us some anxiety, but after they made some buckets there,” Head said. Coach Tanner Kelly said. “I thought the next two and a half quarters were pretty good overall when we got back into a game that was down 19 points at one point. I'm looking forward to seeing where we're at. Second, third, and so on. Part of fourth place, overall pretty solid.”

Despite the first quarter, Kelly believes his team played pretty well to get out of an early hole. This young team was able to get the playing time they expected with the help of a lot of guys heading into next year.

“I felt like, other than the first quarter, we played pretty well. I mean, we dug ourselves a 22-2 hole, which is not ideal, but tonight we won in two quarters.” he said. “We have a good core group coming back, but we lost three seniors and they've done a great job for us over the last four years, but a lot of players are missing playing time. They scored a lot of points and played well defensively.

“Things didn't go the way we wanted this year, but we had a young team so I think we have a chance to come back next year with a solid core and foundation. I think they have a hungry spirit. ” We had a very good group of players coming back with strong attitudes, three sophomores who played a ton of minutes and four juniors who played a ton of minutes. Overall, I'm excited to see how far they progress. ”

We learned a lot this season, especially playing against the best teams in the state.

“There was a lot of learning. Of course not winning games can affect a team, but overall we had some moments against some of the best teams in the state. “I thought we were going to play at least three open teams and maybe four depending on the results,” Kelly said. “This is high-level competition with major D1 athletes. The way we dealt with and fought against some of those teams, and especially the mismatches we were facing, they did a good job.” So I'm very happy with them this year and they're a great group.”

The team has dedicated their time to multiple events in recent months to help the community, and will be equally motivated once this season is over.

“They are helpful in the community. They have done multiple events here in town: Bearcat Towing, Special Olympics, Bus by the Bridge, Balloon Fest, and working with booster clubs. They are the kids who do a lot in the classroom,” Kelly said. “C.J. Butke is one of the smartest kids in all of Arizona and probably one of the top players in the nation. So with this group this motivated, I think we're going to do well beyond basketball in the future. I hope it goes well.”