Sedona Red Rock High School’s boys basketball team knew that the stakes were high heading into its game against Valley Lutheran on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Any chance of making the postseason would have been out the window with a loss. When the game was over, the Red Rock team got the result that it needed.
While the stakes were high, the Sedona players appeared loose and confident. It showed on the scoreboard as Red Rock controlled the game and ultimately defeated the Flames 74-45.
It was a welcome change for the Scorpions, who had lost the previous two games, the first time they’d lost consecutive games all season.
“We cut down the turnovers by more than half and our shots were going in,” SRRHS senior guard Jaiah Grondin said. “We were more aggressive on defense, which is what we need to be doing from the start. Good passing, good looks, good shots. I think everything just felt good tonight.”
Sedona did indeed limit its turnovers, committing only nine on the whole night. As a testament to their passing, the Scorpions had more than twice as many assists, dishing out 21 of those on the night.
Red Rock had three players in double-digit scoring. Senior guard Jamie Alagna led the way, scoring 23. Grondin added 19, while senior forward Joey Johnson had 16. Grondin added six steals, five assists and four rebounds. Alagna had six assists.
Despite fouling out early, junior center Dorian Stevens just missed a double-double, scoring eight points and bringing in 13 rebounds. Junior guard Alberto Sanchez and junior forward Ian Thurston both recorded six rebounds, while Johnson had five.
“Our percentages were really high and when it comes down to it, that’s what you’re going to see in the stats,” Alagna said. “But I feel like we were talking more — we talked a lot more about that. And it was all about the rebounds and turnovers. I think we played harder than we did last time. It’s simple.”
The two teams were back at it on Wednesday, Feb. 24, playing a rematch in Valley Lutheran’s home gym. The result was strikingly similar, with the Scorpions winning 73-46.
Unfortunately for the SRRHS team, a postseason trip was not meant to be. On Friday, Feb. 26, it was announced that, due to a positive test in the program, the season’s remaining two games would be canceled. Even if the Scorpions do finish with a good enough ranking for a spot in the play-in game, their mandatory quarantine period will not be over until days after those games are played.
While the season is over, coach Pedro Ortega was proud of the effort that the team showed, noting that the scoreboard didn’t influence the Scorpions work ethic.
“The one thing about this team is it works hard every single time, whether we’re down or up,” he said.
Ortega was also happy that the season’s final two home games got to be played in front of fans.
“That’s amazing,” Ortega said. “The excitement is a big difference, day and night. Whatever they want to share is fine. It makes it more fun for everybody.”
