- A visiting Catalina Foothills beat Salpointe Catholic 56-48 to sweep the regular season series, making the Falcons 10-0 against the Lancers in the last 10 meetings. Falcons coach Doug D'Amore has his team trending upward late in the season, something he's known for in Southern Arizona. Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the first half, resulting in a 19-18 lead for Salpointe over Foothills at halftime. Both teams began to warm up in the third quarter, but Foothills outscored Salpointe 18-15 in the third quarter to take a two-point lead going into the final frame. For the first three quarters of the game, Salpointe had senior guard Cameron Miller defend Foothills junior Sam Beskind, which worked as Miller held Beskind to 3-of-7 shooting for seven points. But, in the fourth quarter, Salpointe coach Brian Holmstrom switched things up and put senior Isaac Cruz on Beskind, leaving Miller to guard Foothills senior Spencer Lewis. The switch backed fired, resulting in eight points on 3-of-3 shooting. The difference in the fourth quarter was a few mental mistakes for Salpointe, a handful of turnovers and Foothills taking advantage of several match-ups. Coming into the game, Salpointe was ranked No. 3 in 4A and Foothills No. 5. Foothills won the section as a result, as their 7-0 in Kino section play.
- Cruz finished with a team-high 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting, but only attempted one free-throw. Cruz thrives on finishing in the lane with contact and the Falcons defense did a good job of not committing too many fouls on shooters, limiting Salpointe to just nine trips to the charity stripe in the game.
- Junior Rylan O'Brien added nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, but looks like he's been working on his ball handling lately, as he drove in the lane and finished two layups in traffic. O'Brien in past games hasn't exactly displayed the most confidence in his ball handling. This will help O'Brien become a much more well-balanced player.
- Sophomore Julien Whetton looked like the best player on the court for Salpointe on the night, as he scored nine points in an efficient fashion,on 3-of-3 shooting and knocking down two free throws in limited minutes. Whetton also notched a steal and a block hustling on defense. He's earning more minutes, and Salpointe would be better served playing him even more. In the fourth quarter, with less than two minute remaining in the game, Holmstrom subbed Whetton out for the defense of senior Alec McCall. McCall, who is known for doing all the dirty work the other starters won't, gave up a basket on the possession. At the time, Whetton was playing well. On the night, Salpointe struggled to rebound the ball, and Majok Deng led the team with five at that point in the game. McCall wasn't necessarily doing those little things that night, so why not trust the flow of the game, just trailing two points and not making change?
- Sophomore Majok Deng struggled in the game, as he finished with just six points on nine shots, and missed both his free-throw shots in the game. In a game where he needed to show up big, he didn't. He only recorded one foul, so foul trouble wasn't an issue. Deng is a good player, but he still has room for improvement. Deng did a solid job as a help defender, blocking four shots, and altering more with his length and slammed a ferocious dunk home in the second quarter.
- Sophomore wing Phoenix Kats scored a game-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Katz knocked down both of his three-point attempts at the top of the key, and blocked a few shots. The Falcons began feeding him in the second half, as he was 5-of-6. He's no longer in the dog house, as D'Amore said he's done all the right things as of late and has been inserted back into the starting lineups for the last two weeks.
- Beskind scored 10 points, but didn't shoot well (3-of-10). Beskind hit his lone three-point attempt and almost dunked on a defender in the lane. Beskind has deceptive athleticism, but still lacks in that department. He hustles and plays with a high basketball IQ. Beskind also held Miller to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting while guarding him for most of the contest.
- Cruz finished with a team-high 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting, but only attempted one free-throw. Cruz thrives on finishing in the lane with contact and the Falcons defense did a good job of not committing too many fouls on shooters, limiting Salpointe to just nine trips to the charity stripe in the game.
- Junior Rylan O'Brien added nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, but looks like he's been working on his ball handling lately, as he drove in the lane and finished two layups in traffic. O'Brien in past games hasn't exactly displayed the most confidence in his ball handling. This will help O'Brien become a much more well-balanced player.
- Sophomore Julien Whetton looked like the best player on the court for Salpointe on the night, as he scored nine points in an efficient fashion,on 3-of-3 shooting and knocking down two free throws in limited minutes. Whetton also notched a steal and a block hustling on defense. He's earning more minutes, and Salpointe would be better served playing him even more. In the fourth quarter, with less than two minute remaining in the game, Holmstrom subbed Whetton out for the defense of senior Alec McCall. McCall, who is known for doing all the dirty work the other starters won't, gave up a basket on the possession. At the time, Whetton was playing well. On the night, Salpointe struggled to rebound the ball, and Majok Deng led the team with five at that point in the game. McCall wasn't necessarily doing those little things that night, so why not trust the flow of the game, just trailing two points and not making change?
- Sophomore Majok Deng struggled in the game, as he finished with just six points on nine shots, and missed both his free-throw shots in the game. In a game where he needed to show up big, he didn't. He only recorded one foul, so foul trouble wasn't an issue. Deng is a good player, but he still has room for improvement. Deng did a solid job as a help defender, blocking four shots, and altering more with his length and slammed a ferocious dunk home in the second quarter.
- Sophomore wing Phoenix Kats scored a game-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Katz knocked down both of his three-point attempts at the top of the key, and blocked a few shots. The Falcons began feeding him in the second half, as he was 5-of-6. He's no longer in the dog house, as D'Amore said he's done all the right things as of late and has been inserted back into the starting lineups for the last two weeks.
- Beskind scored 10 points, but didn't shoot well (3-of-10). Beskind hit his lone three-point attempt and almost dunked on a defender in the lane. Beskind has deceptive athleticism, but still lacks in that department. He hustles and plays with a high basketball IQ. Beskind also held Miller to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting while guarding him for most of the contest.
