Now that all the championships have been decided, it’s time to put a wrap on an exciting 2019-20 high school basketball season.
Two local teams — Salpointe Catholic’s boys team and Sabino’s girls team — won state championships.
Salpointe worked overtime to win the first state title in program history, beating Peoria 54-48 in the Class 4A state title game. Sabino took a similarly difficult route in 3A, spotting their opponents leads at halftime in both Friday’s semifinal and Saturday’s final before stepping up in the final 16 minutes.
Two other teams — Sahuaro’s girls and Sabino’s boys — made it to the final only to fall short.
Sabino’s magic ran out Saturday against a bigger, stronger American Leadership Academy team. The 3A final came less than 24 hours after pulling out an improbable last-minute victory, scoring five straight points in the final 41 seconds to overcome a stubborn Page squad.
Sahuaro finished its season with two losses. Both came to state championship teams: Sabino beat Sahuaro at the MLK Classic, and Chandler Seton Catholic beat Sabino on Saturday.
The season’s end came with a flurry of awards. The following are this year’s Coach of the Year (COY), Player of the Year (POY), Offensive Player of the Year (OPY) and Defensive Player of the Year (DPY), as selected by their respective regions.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Class 6A Metro
COY: Daryl Jones, Tucson High
POY: Mark Hunter, Tucson High
OPOY: Mark Hunter, Tucson High
DPOY: Ravion Hodge, Cesar Chavez
Class 5A Sonoran Region
COY: Sean Spiece, Flowing Wells
POY: Khalid Whitaker, Flowing Wells
OPOY: Khalid Whitaker, Flowing Wells
DPOY: Toate Sika, Rincon/University
Class 5A Southern Region
COY: Dave Glasgow, Sierra Vista Buena
POY: Jovany Featherston, Sierra Vista Buena
OPOY: Steven Legleu, Nogales
DPOY: Jaylen McFadden, Sierra Vista Buena
Class 4A Gila Region
COY: Frank Arellano, Rio Rico
POY: Mario Alvarado, Rio Rico
OPOY: Francisco Lugo, Douglas
DPOY: Zach Morgan, Pueblo
Class 4A Kino Region
COY: Doug D’Amore, Catalina Foothills and Jim Reynolds, Salpointe Catholic
POY: Evan Nelson, Salpointe Catholic
OPOY: Grant Weitman, Salpointe Catholic
DPOY: Will Menaugh, Catalina Foothills
Class 3A South Region
COY: Martin Roth, Sabino
POY: Cesar Saenz, Sabino
OPOY: Pablo Gutierrez, Sabino
DPOY: Scott Bumb, Pusch Ridge Christian
Class 2A East Region
COY: Cliff Thompson, Pima
POY: Alec Judd, Pima
OPOY: David Ballesteros, Bisbee
DPOY: Spencer Stevens, Thatcher
Class 2A South Region
COY: Terry Antonio, San Carlos
POY: Gabe Escobedo, Miami
OPOY: Thomas Reyna, St. Augustine
DPOY: Matt Riddle, Miami
Class 1A South Region
COY: Nate Porter, Patagonia Union;
POY: Kota Benson; Sells Baboquivari
OPOY: Kota Benson; Sells Baboquivari
DPOY: Josiah Prior, The Gregory School
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class 6A Metro Region
COY: Annette Gutierrez, Tucson High
POY: Adela Garcia, Phoenix North
OPOY: Adela Garcia, Phoenix North
DPOY: Trinity Markham, Laveen Cesar Chavez
Class 5A Sonoran Region
COY: Michael Perkins, Flowing Wells
POY: Milinda Arguellez, Flowing Wells
OPOY: Loraya Rocha, Rincon/University
DPOY: Sunday Leopoldo, Cholla
Class 5A Southern Region
COY: Cole Colvin, Sierra Vista Buena
POY: Jaslyn Booker, Sierra Vista Buena
OPOY: Dominque Acosta, Nogales
DPOY: Jaslyn Booker, Sierra Vista Buena
Class 4A Gila Region
COY: Billy Hix, Rio Rico and Mario Ybarra, Palo Verde
POY: Luisayde Chavez, Rio Rico
OPOY: Mat’tanaya Vital, Amphi
DPOY: Kiana Ortiz, Palo Verde
Class 4A Kino Region
COY: Steve Botkin, Sahuaro
POY: Alyssa Brown, Sahuaro
OPOY: Alyssa Brown, Sahuaro
DPOY: Alyssa Brown, Sahuaro
Class 3A South Region
COY: Jaamal Rhodes, Sabino and Michael Edwards, Tanque Verde
POY: Kamryn Doty, Sabino
OPOY: Kiya Dorroh, Sabino
DPOY: Emma Morris, Tanque Verde
Class 2A East Region
COY: Courtney Borquez, Bisbee
POY: Gabby Lopez, Bisbee
OPOY: Saydee Allred, Pima
DPOY: Emily Darwin, Benson
Class 1A South Region
COY: Joseph Mease, Sells Baboquivari
POY: Autumn Nelson, Sells Baboquivari
OPOY: Autumn Nelson, Baboquivari
DPOY: Eunice Ineza, The Gregory School
