Shaw leads Valley Christian to title
Luke Shaw kept the titles in the family Saturday night, scoring 34 points and leading Chandler Valley Christian to a second straight 3A boys basketball championship with a 65-44 win over Kayenta Monument Valley.
The Trojans were unfazed by the proMonument Valley crowd that traveled to Phoenix from the Navajo Nation, roaring throughout Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Every time Monument Valley scored, the noise level rose.
But after the first quarter, there weren’t enough big moments for the crowd to make a difference. That’s because Shaw, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, began to go off. He made 9 of 20 shots, 4 of 13 from 3 through the first three quarters, and, in the final quarter, scored his last six points from the free throw line during his memorable night.
Last year, his brother Caleb Shaw was in the spotlight, leading Valley Christian to a 61-56 win over Coolidge for the state title, scoring 31 points.
Luke Shaw missed the late regularseason loss to Coolidge due to an ankle issue. But he was ready for the tournament, especially the final, showing off his speed, skills, quickness and ability to stretch the court by hitting long shots and slashing inside for points or passing off to open teammates.
He even had energy to pick up Monument Valley players when they hit the floor.
“It was good,” Shaw said about the ankle. “I got a lot of rehab. I healed it quickly. It allowed me to come back quickly.”
This was Valley Christian’s eighth state championship under Greg Haagsma, the Trojans’ third in four years.
Their length and strength on the boards wore on smaller Monument Valley. And Jake Harrison stepped up and had the defensive game of the night, holding Albrandon Byjoe to 16 points, after Byjoe went for 40 against Coolidge in a quarterfinal rout.
“I was just trying to force him right,” Harrison said. “Everything he created was going left. I was trying to make him create spacde and shoot 3s. And he wasn’t making them tonight.”
Byjoe made only 2 of 6 from long distance in the first three quarters. His 3 with 30 second left in the third quaerter cut the score to 48-38.
After Shaw sat out the last two minutes of the third quarter, he returned to start the fourth quarter. In the first three minutes, it was over.
Harrison scored on a drive, Kyle Grier hit a 3, Shaw drove in for a basket, and Austin Wallace scored four straight points, and Valley Christian was ahead 59-40 with 5:09 to play.
“He gets his shots off quick,” Monument
Valley coach Randolph Gilmore said of Shaw. “We tried to stick with him the whole second half, because the first half he had like 20 points.”
This was Monument Valley’s first trip to the state final since 2003. Fans from the Navajo reservation stayed and cheered long after it was over, honking their horns outside the Coliseum, before the team boarded its bus to go home.
Valley Christian’s eight state titles, all under Haagsma, have come since 2002.
This was as special as any of them, the way Valley Christian (30-2) battled, at times without Shaw as he dealt with knee and ankle problems. The Trojans beat 2A champion Pima this season, and American Leadership Ironwood twice. That team made a run to the final four, before losing by a point to Monument Valley in Friday’s semifinal.
“Our guys are battle tested,” Haagsma said. “We were here last year. We played Holbrook, and Holbrook had a full gym. We played Pima. We played Rancho. We played Arizona Lutheran. We played two good teams from Colorado. So we were battle tested. Played Gilbert Christian twice. Our region was loaded.
“I didn’t think we were going to fold when they took that lead (15-11 late in the first quarter).”
Shaw jump-started Valley Christian’s prolonged run.
Haagsma was not surprised by how Shaw played in the final game.
“He’s just relentless,” Haagsma said. “That’s the best word I can use. He just keeps coming at you. He’s probably contagious to get our team to play fast. When we play fast, we’re better.”