Campo Verde holds off Millennium for first 5A boys basketball state championship
Gilbert Campo Verde trailed after a quarter and after a half Friday night.
But the Coyotes knew they'd own the second half.
With a 10-2 run to begin the third quarter, they kept coming and coming until Goodyear Millennium had nothing left and beat the Tigers 61-48 for the school's first-ever 5A boys basketball state championship at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
It was the first time Campo Verde reached the state final. And, for coach Mark Martinez, it was 18 years for him to finally hold the gold ball.
"It took a team," Martinez said. "We lost our leader (Isaiah Kai) in a foul-trouble situation. We stuck with it and pulled it out in the end."
Kai, the team's leading scorer, fouled out with 11 points with 2:16 to play and the Coyotes leading 48-41.
Less than two minutes later, they had a 57-44 lead with their big man, Garrett Ahern, going to work. Ahern hit a couple of jump shots in the lane. He came into the final quarter with two points, those coming from the line. He finished with 10 points, giving Campo Verde five double-figures scorers.
"Coach told me to just keep being confident," Ahern said. "It feels incredible. We've all grown up together. We've been dreaming about this."
Campo Verde (28-4) started in the 32-team Open Division bracket. After losing to Open finalist Phoenix Sunnyslope 64-43 in the second round, the Coyotes regrouped, knowing they'd get another shot at a state title through the 5A bracket.
They escaped Gilbert Higley by two, beat Vail Cienega by 20, and held off Peoria Centennial 54-53 in the semifinals to get here.
For Millennium (27-5), it was their third heartbreaking ending in the final since 2019. The Tigers fell to Gilbert 38-37 in the 2019 state championship game and to Glendale Ironwood 78-70 in the 2020 final.
This Millennium team was built around youth, led by 6-foot-6 freshman Cameron Holmes, who finished Friday's game with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Guard Quincy Everson tried to keep Millennium in the game. He had a couple of impressive, tough moves around the basket for points. He had 12 points.
But, in the end, the Tigers can look at these stats — 11 of 23 from the free-throw line, 3 of 21 from the 3-point arc and 17 of 52 (32.7%) from the field and losing the rebound edge 40-28 — for their downfall.
"They'll learn a lot from this," coach Ty Amundsen said. "We've got to get bigger and stronger. They manhandled us on the boards. Free throws go a long way."
Justin Garcia, one of the smallest guys on the court, made 3 of 8 3-pointers and had 13 points and nine rebounds to spark Campo Verde. He got help from Ty McDowell (12 points) and Cohen Ferguson (13 points, five rebounds, a block and a steal).
Kai could get away with one of his worst shooting nights (3 of 13 from the field) of the season, because he got so much help in so many ways.
Campo Verde was clutch at the line, making 18 of 20 free throws, including nine of its last 10 in the final 1:30.
"We've been playing together as a team for six, seven years," Ferguson said. "We've been doubted our whole lives going into high school. We were just waiting to own the court."
They did. And they'll be celebrating in Gilbert this weekend.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Campo Verde holds off Millennium for first 5A state championship
