Aztecs shock Mesa, secure role as early ‘Cinderella’
By Brian Gomez
The makings of a Herculean upset for Corona del Sol High School’s boys varsity basketball team were evident from the beginning this past week in a non-region game at Mesa High.
They became more apparent down the stretch as chants of “Overrated!” and “Our house!” resonated from the student section behind Corona’s bench, not far from where Sammy Duane Sr. watched with a keen eye while his son frantically paced the sidelines.
By the time the final buzzer sounded, the unthinkable had happened, thanks to senior point guard T.J. Benson’s three-point play in the waning moments of Corona’s dramatic, 44-42 win over No. 2-ranked Mesa.
Wearing orange gym shorts, cutoff T-shirts and headbands, Corona’s students flooded the floor, creating a scene of euphoria typically witnessed only on ESPN Classic.
For Corona head coach Sammy Duane Jr., the pandemonium meant his team had arrived, taking the first step toward the glass slipper as this season’s Cinderella.
“We stayed in there, and we stayed in there, and we stayed in there,” Duane said. “Then we started saying, ‘Hey, you know what? We might be able to win this game.’ Our confidence grew, and grew, and grew.”
The Aztecs (3-1) seemingly had the game in hand early in the fourth quarter after junior forward Alex Wentis tossed in back-to-back buckets, propelling his team to a 41-35 lead with 4:40 remaining.
But when Corona’s offense went cold, Mesa (3-1) capitalized by reeling off five straight points to cut the deficit to 41-40 with 3:03 left. Less than two minutes later, the Jackrabbits reclaimed the lead for the first time since the second quarter on senior forward Lee Cummard’s basket in the lane.
That’s when Benson answered the bell, making the type of play that recruiters from four-year schools drool over.
Dribbling the ball well beyond the arc as the clock dwindled below 15 seconds, Benson drove past the three-point stripe and weaved his way through the lane, then kissed an acrobatic layup off the glass as he crashed to the court.
Benson’s ensuing free throw with 10.6 seconds to go gave the Aztecs a two-point edge that they would not relinquish. Mesa threatened on its final two possessions, but came away empty-handed.
Benson stole an inbounds pass from Cummard, before missing the front end of a one-and-one. The Jackrabbits had some hope, however, junior guard Travis LeBaron couldn’t get off a shot in the closing seconds.
“Our defense was what kept us in it because we couldn’t do anything early offensively, and they’re a good defensive team,” Duane said. “We just scored when we had to, and we executed when we had to.”
Wentis marked a team-high 15 points, and Benson finished with 10. Corona senior forward Dan Winterbottom scored nine points, in addition to holding Cummard in check for most of the game. Benson and Winterbottom both played the entire 32 minutes.
“We were concerned about our matchups, but our scout team ran their stuff, and we defended it well the last two days,” Duane said.
Corona’s improbable win shows that last week’s setback against Scottsdale Desert Mountain in the season-opening Mesa High Thanksgiving Tournament could be more of the exception than the norm.
It also sheds light on the capability of a team that wasn’t given much respect in the Central Region, having been picked to finish below No. 3 Desert Vista and No. 5 Marcos de Niza.
“We know we have to come out and play that way every game, because we’re not going to step on the court and roll over people,” Duane said.
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com
