PRESCOTT VALLEY — Winners of three straight and 12 of their last 13, the Bradshaw Mountain boys basketball team came in at No. 3 overall in the AIA’s debut of the 4A power point rankings Thursday afternoon.

The Bears (13-2, 2-0 4A Grand Canyon) beat region rival Mingus 61-30 on Tuesday evening and are gearing up for cross-town rival Prescott next week.

When asked if he was surprised that the Bears came in at No. 3 in the state, first-year head coach Cain Atkinson said he expected it.

“I knew that if we were willing to buy in, willing to work on being tougher physically, mentally, and put the work in, limit the excuses … we would be a great team,” Atkinson said. “The kids have done a great job buying in.”

Atkinson spent the past nine years at Lee Williams with the boys program, and was head coach of the Volunteers for six before taking the job in Prescott Valley this past fall.

Bradshaw Mountain has nice wins against Seton Catholic (62-57 OT), Dysart (49-38), Williams Field (50-47) and Yuma Catholic (48-41) so far this season.

“I think I’m holding them accountable,” Atkinson said when asked what he attributed his club’s success to so far this season. “Free time, practice on the court, during a game … I feel like I do that. We do a great job at that, we hold each other accountable.”

Mason Hunt leads the Bears in scoring with 12.7 points per game, while Dante Landis averages 8.6 rebounds per game and Ben Wilder averages 3.6 assists per game.

Bradshaw Mountain hosts Prescott on Monday, Jan. 9. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

BADGERS MISS TOP 10, FOR NOW

Despite winning nine of their first 10 games, the Prescott boys basketball team finds itself sitting outside the Top 10 and at No. 14 in the 4A state rankings.

The Badgers (9-1, 1-0 4A Grand Canyon) have played only six power point games so far, and have plenty of time in January to get themselves in the Top 10, coach Travis Stedman said Thursday.

“We have one loss that factored in,” Steadman said, pointing to the 73-61 defeat against Deer Valley on Dec. 12. The Skyhawks are ranked No. 9.

Stedman believes his club was fortunate to come out of the first five games with a 4-1 record, and as of today, his club is healthy moving forward.

“We had football legs and lungs during those first five games,” Stedman said. “We didn’t have a lot of cohesion, but we stepped out of that 4-1. We shook off the rust, rolled into the Judy Dixon [and did well].”

Prescott finished 4-0 to win the tournament, defeating Skyline (6A), Catalina Foothills (5A), Mountain Ridge (6A) and Dysart (4A).

The Badgers host Coconino (5-8, 1-0 4A Grand Canyon) on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

OTHER NORTHERN ARIZONA NOTEABLES

4A- No. 20 Coconino (4-3), No. 22 Lee Williams (4-2); 3A- No. 2 Monument Valley (8-0), No. 4 Holbrook (5-0), No. 6 Blue Ridge (3-0), No. 11 Chinle (5-2), No. 14 Page (4-2), No. 15 Parker (4-2), No. 16 Snowflake (5-1); 2A- No. 12 Mohave Accelerated (5-2), No. 14 Kingman Academy (6-2), No. 22 St. Johns (4-2); 1A- No. 3 Mogollon (5-0), No. 8 Salome (5-2).

SEDONA GIRLS COME IN AT NO. 5

The Sedona Red Rock girls basketball team has won 11 of its last 12 games to put themselves in a position to be a Top 5 team in the 2A at the season’s midway point.

Thursday’s release of the inaugural power point rankings by the AIA ranks the Scorpions (11-2, 1-0 2A Metro) No. 5 overall behind No. 4 Phoenix Country Day, No. 3 Pima, No. 2 Leading Edge Academy-Gilbert and No. 1 San Carlos.

Sedona has lost back-to-back 2A state title games to Pima.

On Friday, Jan. 6, Sedona hosts No. 4 Phoenix Country Day and head coach Kirk Westervelt said they are the team to beat in 2A this season.

“We haven’t lost a home game in three years, but this will be our toughest test during that time span,” Westervelt said in a news release.

OTHER NORTHERN ARIZONA NOTEABLES

4A- No. 4 Flagstaff (5-2), No. 11 Lee Williams (5-1), No. 17 Mingus (5-1), No. 21 Coconino (3-2), No. 24 Prescott (4-2); 3A- No. 1 Parker (6-0), No. 2 Monument Valley (6-2), No. 5 Alchesay (6-2), No. 6 Tuba City (6-1), No. 7 Show Low (6-2), No. 9 Blue Ridge (2-1), No. 10 Chinle (4-2); 2A- St. Johns (5-1), No. 12 Valley Sanders (4-3); 1A- No. 2 Joseph City (6-1), No. 7 Williams (4-1), No. 9 Salome (5-2).

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.