4 takeaways from Basha's freshmen-fueled McClintock Holiday basketball tournament title
Chandler Basha freshmen Mason Magee and Elijah Summers-Livingston put on a display that belied their age during the Tempe McClintock Holiday Basketball Shootout.
Summers-Livingston had the put-back slam dunk in the final seconds to lift Basha over Scottsdale Desert Mountain 82-81 in the semifinals on Wednesday night.
Thursday night, it was point guard Magee's turn to turn it up several notches, leading the unbeaten Bears to a 72-60 win over Gilbert Highland for the championship.
Magee had 19 points a day after scoring 18 points against Desert Mountain and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
"Really proud of our team this week," coach Mike Grothaus said. "The reason I love the McClintock Shootout is you find out so much about your team and it prepares you for the second half of the schedule."
Here are four takeaways from the tournament:
Freshmen takeover
You're never too young for the high school spotlight, and Basha might have two of the more dynamic freshmen in the state in Summers-Livingston and Magee.
Summers-Livingston, who is 6-foot-7, had 18 points against Desert Mountain, offsetting a tremendous game from Desert Mountain freshman Kaden House -- son of former Arizona State standout Eddie House -- who had 30 points in that semifinal classic. The 6-3 House had 20 of his points in the first half.
"Defends and rebounds and hasn't even scratched the surface yet," Grothaus said about Summers-Livingston.
Magee might be the fastest guard in the state, in any classification and year.
"Mason Magee is really showing why he is one of the top guards in the state," Grothaus said. "He can get to any spot on the floor and is the best on-ball defender in the state."
The X factor
Grothaus calls Izaih Johnson his X factor, maybe the most underrated player in the state. He is the team's captain.
"He balances the two freshmen along with the upperclassmen," Grothaus said.
The workhorse
Torin Bosch is the team's workhorse, who does a little bit of everything for the 16-0 Bears, kind of reminiscent of what current Grand Canyon forward Gabe McGlothan did in 2017 when the Bears won the 6A state championship.
Resiliency
Basha, even with all of its youth, starting two freshmen and two juniors, showed how resilient it is in the tournament. It had to overcome a double-digit lead to beat a very talented Desert Mountain team. And for Summers-Livingston to be so head's up on the follow dunk on the missed layup by Magee showed a court awarness that these guys have.
"To bounce back off such a physically, emotionally draining game to beat a Highland (12-2) team that is really playing well, I'm proud of them," Grothaus said.
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: Takeaways from Basha's freshmen-fueled McClintock tournament title
