Tom Aizenberg is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover North High School for AZPreps365.com.

PHOENIX -- After the way the Mustangs handled the Bruins in their last meeting, it was expected that North High School would once again cruise to victory against Trevor G. Browne. They did, by the score of 73-38, but the game did not begin easily for them.

"I thought we were gonna blow them out," said senior forward Adrian Vega. 

However, after the first quarter, Trevor G. Browne led 9-7 while the Mustangs could not buy a basket. 

The game turned on its head when North coach Dana White, Jr., inserted leading scorer Iyon Brown, who came off the bench Tuesday. 

"It was senior night," said coach White. "So a lot of our guys who have been working hard for us got to play a bit more and they did okay. This was the first real action for some of them. So it was good for them."

Brown, Luke Haugo and Vicente Castro were replaced in the starting five by seniors Elijah Alitz, Adrian Vega and Emmanuel Rodriguez. 

Elijah Alitz gets ready to inbound the ball in the first quarter (Tom Aizenberg/AZPreps365)

Brown sparked a 23-4 run to give the Mustangs a 30-13 lead. The second quarter would be North's highest-scoring one as they dropped 30 points in the period. 

In fact, Brown outscored the entire Bruins team 10-9 in that second quarter.

At one point Arthur Antunez passed the ball towards the hoop through traffic but Brown managed to catch and finish it in one swift motion for the and-one.  

The key to the Mustangs' victory was forcing Trevor G. Browne into a lot of turnovers. Throughout most of the game, North played full-court defense and pressured the Bruins' guards all night long. 

Trevor G. Browne committed 17 turnovers, most of them forced from the pressure by the Mustangs. 

Senior Diego Peinado led North in scoring with 19 points, including multiple fast-break layups after he tipped some passes.

Tuesday was North's fifth straight victory and seventh overall in their past eight matchups. 

While this was the final regular-season game for the seniors, depending on how some games on Wednesday turn out, the Mustangs (9-9) may be playoff-bound.

"We didn't play our best to start the beginning of the year," said White. "And that's why we're gonna have to wait until tomorrow to see if we get to slide into the playoffs or we miss by a narrow margin."

Trevor G. Browne is in the exact opposite scenario as they finish their season on a 14-game losing streak with nine of those being by 30 or more points.

By the halfway mark of the fourth quarter, with the game already decided due to North's 40-point lead, the Mustangs started messing around and having fun.

They were taking shots from near halfcourt just to see if they could make any and turns out, they couldn't as they missed five of their final six shots from the field.

The only make was a putback layup by Lheohnardo Vargas after the missed free throw by Rodriguez. 

Even Vega got to join in on the fun, making a rare three-pointer at the end of the third quarter.

The crowd was never louder than when Vega made the final three-pointer of his high school basketball career.

"It's kind of sad that I won't get to play with my brothers any more," said Vega.

If there was any way to end a high school career, winning by 35 against a 6A divisional rival is one of the best ways to say goodbye.