February 24, 2022, by Taylor Corlew, Arizona State University

Taylor Corlew is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Masters student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX - The No. 12-seed Boulder Creek Jaguars pulled off their second straight upset of the playoffs, defeating the No. 4-seed Mountain Pointe Pride in the second round of the division 6A state playoffs, 54-44. 

The matchup began with both teams immediately turning the ball over. The immediate offensive struggles came to an end as senior Mountain Pointe shooting guard Tanner Pate struck first blood with a fall-away mid-range jumper.

Unfortunately for Mountain Pointe, the Pride were forced to play the game without pair of leading scorers, Roosevelt “Tru” Washington and Mark Brown, both juniors. Entering the game Roosevelt was averaging a team-high 21.4 points per game, while Brown was averaging 17.8. 

“We just try to focus on the guys who are here,” Mountain Pointe coach Kaimarr Price said. “We're going to play with who we have, and nothing changes. Next man up mentality.”

Mountain Pointe was led in scoring by junior forward Marsai Mason, with 15 points. 

As the game progressed it became evident that Mountain Pointe was in desperate need of both Washington and Brown’s usual offensive output. 

The Pride made a concerted effort to get out in transition, quickly advancing the ball up the court following each defensive rebound. But for Boulder Creek, the three-point shot was the great equalizer, with the Jaguars connecting on seven throughout the game. 

The second quarter was more of a defensive showcase as both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively.

The Pride made it their duty to pick up each ballhandler 94 feet following each made basket. The defensive pressure would slowly but surely pay off, as the Pride extended their lead to seven at halftime with a mid-range buzzer-beater from Pate.

But the story of the second half was Boulder Creek sophomore guard Rowan McKenzie. McKenzie began the third quarter by hitting two long-range three-pointers, along with an acrobatic layup which he converted into a three-point play. 

Although, a sophomore, McKenzie is the Jaguars leading scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game on the season. He ended the game with 13 points. 

This was the first meeting between Mountain Pointe and Boulder Creek since the two last met during the 2017-2018 season. The Pride dominated the matchup by 24 points. 

Both Mountain Pointe and Boulder Creek were coming off the heels of dominant wins in the previous rounds matchups. Mountain Pointe took care of business, beating 13-seed Corona Del Sol by 18 in their third consecutive matchup, while Boulder Creek upset five-seed Highland by 15.

Boulder Creek Jaguars stand for the National Anthem ahead of their playoff matchup against Mountain Pointe. (Taylor Corlew/ AZPrep365)

The Jaguars began the third quarter by scoring 11 unanswered points, nine of which came from McKenzie alone. Boulder Creek's ball movement was infectious, whereas many of Pride’s offensive possessions resulted in stagnation.

The Jaguars closed the gap entering the fourth quarter, outscoring Mountain Pointe 20-13 in the third quarter, resulting in a 38-37 lead in favor of the Pride. 

The closing quarter began with senior guard Anthony Jaramillo connecting on an and-one layup for Mountain Pointe, but missing the free throw. The favor was quickly returned by none other than McKenzie, who hit a clutch three-pointer to knot the game at 40 apiece. 

With the game hanging in the balance, Boulder Creek guard Dylan Spilde received the ball on the low block where he proceeded to give a Mountain Pointe defender an up-and-under layup that would make Kevin McHale proud. 

Spilde followed that up with another layup, this time uncontested, coming off of a steal on the defensive end. The uncontested basket extended the Jaguars' lead to 44-40. 

Spilde finished the game with a game-high 14 points. 

In the waning moments of the game, Mountain Pointe committed two untimely personal fouls, both of which resulted in Jaguar senior forward Mike Orr nailing a pair of clutch free throws. 

The Jaguars caught fire just at the right moment, outscoring Mountain Pointe 17-6 in the fourth quarter. The fourth-quarter offensive onslaught was capped off by an emphatic transition two-hand slam by Orr that sealed the victory.

While Mountain Pointe's season ended on a bitter note, coach Price is still proud of his team's effort.

"There's a lot to be proud of with these kids," coach Price said. "They work hard, they accomplished a lot. They went 9-1 in the only region to have all teams make the playoffs. They beat Harvard Westlake, who's top-15 in the country. We dealt with a lot of adversity and they just fought through it and pushed and showed perseverance, so a lot to be proud of.”

Boulder Creek (23-8, 7-3) will travel to Chandler on Friday to take on 9-seed Hamilton (19-8, 3-5) in their third consecutive away game at 7 PM. 

“They’re a well-coached team with fantastic athletes,” Boulder Creek coach Justin Collard said,” “I’m just proud of our guys to make it this far, and to play this team in this game means we’re moving in the right direction. So we’re gonna go out there and try to play our best again.”