No. 5 Gilbert Christian pulls off upset of No. 2 Alchesay
PRESCOTT VALLEY – No. 5-seeded Gilbert Christian hoisted its first 2A Conference boys basketball state championship trophy, beating No. 2 Alchesay 66-51 on Saturday at Prescott Valley Event Center.
“It’s really special because this group wasn’t predicted before the season to win the championship,” Gilbert Christian coach Kurt Keener said. “We had some graduation losses, we had some kids transfer, we had to make the move down to a lower division, so it’s special. It’s emotional because I know how difficult it is and there’s no guarantee you’ll ever get back here.”
Gilbert Christian’s (25-5) height advantage and ability to get inside the paint held off Alchesay’s (33-3) offense that averaged more than 73 points per game during the regular season.
Gilbert Christian’s offense found success at the rim. Top-shooting duo Nate Graville and Kyle Patterson tallied 21 and 19 points, respectively.
“It feels amazing. There’s no greater feeling in the world than to come out champs,” Patterson said.
Alchesay fans attended in droves for the championship game. Keener said the crowd, which filled the 5,400 capacity of the arena, played into preparation, with the same approach as a road game.
“We made signs to try and battle it,” Keener said. “We talked a lot about communicating and things like that.”
Gilbert Christian junior Brayden Finkbeiner kicked off a 7-2 lead. Senior Braeden Ferguson hit back-to-back 3s from the left corner. Ferguson finished the half with eight points, and Gilbert Christian had a 38-17 halftime lead.
Alchesay junior forward Tristen Upton tried to spark life into the offense. He finished with 21 points, the only Alchesay player to hit double digits.
Patterson (6-foot-4) and Graville (6-7) kept Alchesay at bay, getting only within 10 points during the fourth.
A collision with 7 minutes, 13 seconds left in regulation, left Patterson, who averaged 17 points during the regular season, on the ground. He limped off the court, favoring his right ankle.
“We’ve faced adversity before,” Keener said. “I pulled the kids over here and said we’ve dealt with this before, we’ve had guys be injured, sick.”
Patterson re-entered the game 3 minutes later.