Daniel Mendenhall is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sunrise Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com

The lead was established from the very start for Sunrise Mountain as the Mustangs beat Raymond S. Kellis every quarter.

The Sunrise Mountain boys’ varsity basketball team defeated the Cougars 55-40 in their season finale on Tuesday. This win contributed to ending the Mustangs’ season on a two-game winning streak heading into the tournament.

Despite turning the ball over a number of times at the start of the game, Sunrise Mountain maintained a 16-7 lead over the Cougars to end the first quarter.

This momentum carried over into the second quarter where Sunrise outscored Kellis yet again. This extended the lead to 27-12 at halftime, where the Mustangs planned to come out and finish the job with authority.

“We just came out with confidence in the third quarter, and we just wanted to set the tone from the beginning,” said starting guard Caden Hammond. “We were sharing the ball really well, rebounding really well, and we were knocking down shots today too.”

These were all key parts in the dominating win for Sunrise on Tuesday night following the win against Paradise Valley on Feb. 2. Hammond came out hot to start the half, scoring six points at the beginning of the third quarter.

“We had a rough third quarter shooting the ball, and the start of the fourth we had it rough,” said Head Coach Gary Rath. “Thirteen, Caden has been a workhorse for us all year.”

The Mustangs began to dominate the boards and beat Kellis in offensive rebounds in order to build on their lead during the second half.

“If the team can’t get second-chance points it always helps out,” said starting senior Andrew Balian. “Second-chance points, their percentage is through the roof. Keep them off the boards, can’t score the ball, can’t win the game.”

This is when the shift in confidence was initiated, and Sunrise Mountain became a force to be reckoned with. The Mustangs started to hit their shots more in fourth quarter, where they extended their lead to the most it had been all game.

“We made plays at the defensive end, and we made some shots,” said Rath. “I adjusted our defense a little bit and they got super aggressive, created some turnovers, then we got rolling.”

Sunrise scored a total of 18 points in the final quarter of this game to seal the deal at Raymond S. Kellis high school. This was their highest scoring quarter all game, and their head coach sparked their confidence to go all the way.

Despite the Cougars cutting the lead down to seven in the final quarter, the Mustangs kept their composure to close the game out. “We’ve been through that a lot this season. We just can’t stay flustered, got to just calm down and come together as a team,” said Balian.

This was a much-needed confidence boost for Sunrise after being on a six-game losing streak prior to their win against Paradise Valley on Feb. 2. This win against Kellis makes two in a row as Sunrise Mountain looks to maintain their winning streak with a spot in their division’s state tournament.