Brophy Prep, St. Mary's fall to out-of-state teams in Hoophall West showcase
Phoenix Brophy Prep got great efforts from its Big 2 of Arman Madi and Braeden Speed, but needed more help in a 72-61 loss Thursday night to California school Notre Dame on the second day of the Hoophall West basketball showcase at Scottsdale Chaparral.
Brophy felt the loss of senior guard Connor Fitzgerald, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Friday in an overtime loss to Goodyear Millennium. Fitzgerald started 12 games for the Broncos last season. With Madi and Speed, he was the only other player leftover from last year's state semifinalist team that was part of that rotation.
Madi had 28 points on 7 of 19 shooting, and 10 of 11 free throws. Speed made 5 of 9 shots and had 13 points and five assists, two steals and no turnovers.
"We dug ourselves a hole in the first half, and that left us playing from behind most of the game," Coach Matt Hooten said. "I thought in the second half we played with a lot more energy, and as a result we were able to close to six about halfway through the fourth quarter."
Brophy Prep (2-1) made just 2 of 11 shots in the second quarter and fell into a 37-22 halftime hole.
The Broncos made 14 of 30 shots in the second half. They had 32 rebounds, four more than Notre Dame, which was led by Dusty Stromer's 28 points. He made 6 of 9 3-pointers. Caleb Foster had 17 points and Angelino Mark added 15 for Notre Dame, which shot 52% from the field and knocked down 14 of 29 3-pointers.
Phoenix St. Mary's, another Arizona Republic Top 10 Open Division team, fell to South Carolina's Gray Collegiate 71-61. Junior point guard Styles Phipps had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Knights, but he was only 1 of 8 on his 3-point tries and made only 5 of 14 free throws and committed six turnovers. He had four steals and four assists.
The Knights (1-2) shot 33% in the game and made 7 of 28 3-pointers. Guard Kenny White added 14 points and sophomore forward Caspian Jones 11 points.
St. Mary's turned the ball over 17 times.
Gray Collegiate was led by Montraivis White's 28 points and Ellis Graham's 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.
In the other game, Duncanville, the top-rated team in Texas, defeated Cardinal Hayes out of the Bronx, New York, 69-58, as forward Ron Holland had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Cardinal Hayes was led by Ian Jackson's 23 points on 9 of 19 shooting, 4 of 8 3-pointers.
Host Chaparral played the first of four games Thursday, losing to Rancho Christian out of Temecula, California, 80-48, falling into a 46-23 halftime hole.
Kevin Patton Jr., who starred at Maricopa last year, led Rancho Christian with 16 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and four steals. Patton made 8 of 12 shots.
Sean Akin scored 14 points to lead Chaparral, which shot 31.5% in the game and made 9 of 24 3-pointers. Akin made 4 of 5 from behind the arc.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Brophy, St. Mary's fall to out-of-state teams in Hoophall West
