By Don Ketchum

The packed gymnasium at Scottsdale Coronado High was transformed into a big boom box on Friday night (Feb. 10), vibrating with ear-splitting volume and rhythm.

Scottsdale District rivals Phoenix Arcadia and Scottsdale Saguaro went at it in a Division II, Section III boys basketball semifinal game.

Back and forth it went, and the teams took their fans along for the ride.

Chris Thompson’s putback of a missed shot just a fraction of a second before the final buzzer sounded gave Arcadia a 62-60 victory.

Arcadia’s fans poured onto the court. To them, it must have felt like a state championship.

The second-seeded Titans advanced to Saturday night’s (Feb. 11) section title game against No. 4 seed Phoenix Sierra Linda, which upset top-seeded Laveen Betty H. Fairfax in a later game.

Arcadia (22-6) led by as many as eight points in the first quarter. Saguaro (21-8), seeded sixth, came back to lead by nine at halftime.

A 9-2 run early in the third quarter got Arcadia back in the game. The Titans trailed by a point entering the fourth quarter.

The tension continued throughout the final eight minutes. Arcadia had a 60-58 lead with 2:12 left, but Saguaro tied it on a layup by Ryan Berg after a steal and an assist from a teammate. Berg had a brilliant shooting night, scoring a game-high 30 points, including four 3-pointers.

After Berg’s basket with 1:08 left, Arcadia worked the ball around and called timeout with 15.1 seconds left.

The Titans inbounded the ball and Andrew Naderer had a wide-open 3-point attempt from the left side.

The shot spun off the rim, and the 6-foot-7 Thompson used his height to full advantage, reaching up to put the ball back in.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better look (shot for Naderer), but Chris was there to do what he has done all year, crash the boards,’’ said Arcadia coach Luke Neibling. “It worked out for us.’’

The teams split their two regular-season meetings.

“This sectional stuff is stressful,’’ Neibling said. “It was a neutral site, but our guys know Saguaro pretty well. We knew they would come to play. We were able to keep our composure.’’

Thompson scored 17 to lead the Titans. Larry Lewis scored 16 and Terrol Wilson had 12.