Nikki Pica is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism graduate student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX – Corona del Sol bounced back in their second matchup in two nights against Mountain Pointe. The Aztecs ended the Pride’s 13-game win streak on Tuesday night, 66-63.

The Pride controlled the game for a majority of the 32 minutes. Roosevelt “Tru” Washington and Mark Brown controlled the floor. Washington rounded up 13 points in the first half while Brown racked up the assists, finding open looks for his teammates.

Mountain Pointe led entering the second half, but Corona del Sol remained unfazed. They used the halftime break to regroup and make necessary adjustments on the road.

“We were pretty calm at half time,” Corona del Sol head coach Neil MacDonald said. “We knew what we needed, we knew what we wanted. It was just a matter of staying focused, staying composed and sticking with the game plan.”

Senior guard Quinn Thorne amassed 22 points in the second half to pull the Aztecs back into the game. Thorne accounted for 71% of Corona’s points in the second half.

“I think we just really wanted to beat this team,” Thorne said. “We had them with a minute left yesterday and we couldn’t finish it, so I think our team just came together and said we’re going to win this game.”

A defining moment in the game was when Corona del Sol sophomore Preston Lee intentionally fouled Washington with :13 left in regulation instead of allowing the Pride an opportunity to take a long-range shot.

“We’re a really good defensive team and that is what we rely on,” MacDonald said. “That’s our bread and butter. It starts with that, we are not a tremendous scoring team, but we do play really good defense.”

Mountain Pointe struggled to take care of the basketball as the minutes dwindled down. Corona del Sol took advantage of their mistakes.

Lee went to the line to give the Aztecs their first lead since the middle of the first quarter.

Mountain Pointe remained calm and collected. Head coach Kaimarr Price called three timeouts to keep possession of the ball down and allowed his team to pinpoint a plan of attack.

Down three with :07 left in the game, Brown singlehandedly broke the press and headed to the left wing. He faked a dribble handoff to Tanner Pate towards the middle of the floor. Brown crossed over right to left and pulled up for the tie, but his jumper clanked off the back iron and the Pride’s 13-game win streak came to a shocking end.

Corona Del Sol joins Perry in elite company as one of only two schools to defeat Mountain Pointe (17-2) this season. Price and the Pride know that perfection is earned, not given.

“Habit will eventually catch up to us good and bad, and tonight the bad one’s caught up to us.” Price said. “We got a week to work and get better on those.”

With the regular season complete, Mountain Pointe (17-2, 9-1) and Corona Del Sol (11-7, 6-4) now wait anxiously for their 6A State Championship playoff seeds.