Evan Porter is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover North Canyon High School for AZPreps365.com

The North Canyon boys basketball team has had a successful season thus far. It is safe to say that last year’s 15-3 record has carried over into this season as the Rattlers have established themselves as a powerhouse in their region.

North Canyon has an overall record of 14-2 with only two games remaining and is looking to keep the top spot in the 5A Metro region.

The Rattlers played Sierra Linda on Thursday night and will end the season Friday night against Paradise Valley with a chance to improve their overall record to 16-2 before the start of the playoffs.  

Coach Michael O’Guinn had a lot of positives to say about his team and emphasized that the team’s chemistry is a contributing factor to its success.

“We got some core kids that returned from a very good team last year,'' O'Guinn said. "They just gel. They play hard for one another. Defensively, we’re tough, we get after it. Our practices have been tougher than a lot of our games, keeping us prepared.”

Tuesday's game against McClintock was the toughest challenge yet for the Rattlers. Earlier this season they blew out the Chargers by 32 points. The outcome wasn’t the same Tuesday as the Rattlers trailed early by 16 points. Adversity is a word to describe the results after North Canyon rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter and won, 62-59.

“That game (Tuesday night) was a testament of, ‘Hey, we can play through adversity,’ and we matured a ton (Tuesday night) as we get ready for the playoffs,” O’Guinn said.

North Canyon leading scorer Wyatt MacKay is having a huge season and has been a huge part of the offensive success for the Rattlers. The junior forward is averaging 20.4 points per game, which leads the 5A Metro region.

“Just playing through the offense,'' MacKay said. "We run our sets during every practice, knowing what kind of looks I’m going to get, so just keeping it simple.”

As the Rattlers prepare for the playoffs, MacKay described what he thinks North Canyon must do to be successful for the next stage.

“Treat every game with the same mentality,'' he said. "You got to respect everybody and play as hard as we can.”

North Canyon’s defense is another big reason the Rattlers have had success. Junior Makhi Golston, who is averaging a team-high 2.1 steals per game, had a lot of praise for the work they put in and why the Rattlers have clicked so well.

“Our team defense and our unselfishness on the offensive side of the ball,'' he said. "We pass the ball well and we can shoot. When we’re playing defense, all that together makes us a good team.”