Spencer Durose is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student covering Valley Christian High School for AZPreps365.

In a back-and-forth duel Friday night at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona, the Valley Christian Trojans defeated the Yuma Catholic Shamrocks 71-62 in the 3A State Championship semifinals.

Led by center Fernando Vazquez, the Shamrocks led 9-4 to start the first quarter, but that advantage quickly paid off as the Trojans fought back behind Luke Shaw and Austin Wallace. Decreased. The Shamrocks maintained their lead at the end of his 13-12 first.

In the second quarter of a “show drop”, the Junior Stars put up ten points to give the Trojans a 33–29 lead to end the half.

“God gave me these talents, and I’m here to try and give back to him all that he has blessed me with,” Shaw said. “I have teammates who trust me with the ball and what makes this team special is that we get along well with each other and are not afraid to yell at each other when we make mistakes. They hold me accountable and I hold them accountable and that’s what makes this team great.”

In the second half, the offense and defense of both teams continued even in the second half. The Trojans put his 21 behind Kyle Greer’s two of his 3-pointers in the second half and gave him a 54-47 lead heading into the fourth.

“My coaches and teammates always give me positive comments and give me the confidence to hit my shots,” Greer said.

Valley Christian led 59-58 with 4:30 left in the quarter after the Shamrocks came back into the game behind some great 3-point shots. But after that it was all Trojan basketball. The team finished his 4th with his 12-for-3 run, and with the win he clinched his ticket to the 3A State his championship game.

Shaw led the team with 24. He is confident his team will be ready for whoever they face in tomorrow’s matchup.

“Just win,” Shaw said. “A lot of people on the team came here last year. I will do anything.”

Head coach Greg Hagsma feels the same way. He believes his team is more ready than ever and hopes to bring his state championship back to his Christian Valley again.

”I don’t think it matters who we play, it will be a great match tomorrow,” Hagsma said. “I played a couple of straight plays at the beginning of the season to prepare for this, but at this point in the season, I have one more day to polish it.”

Haagsma are pleased with their team’s performance and believe today’s match showed what they are capable of.

“To be honest, I’m not sure tonight’s adjustment worked defensively,” Hagsma said. “By continuing to switch defenses, they ended up missing a few shots. It was a great ballgame with two really great teams.”

Valley Christian will face Monument Valley in the 3A Championship on Saturday at 6pm at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.