Shane Sayegh
ASU Student Journalist

Mountain View remains undefeated in 6A East Valley with win over Red Mountain

February 3, 2023 by Shane Sayegh, Arizona State University


The Toros take warmup shots before Friday's contest. (Shane Sayegh/AZPreps365)

Shane Sayegh is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain View High School for AZPreps365.com

The Mountain View Toros cruised past the Red Mountain Mountain Lions 46-33 on Friday night.

The win for the Toros capped off an undefeated record in 6A East Valley regional play, as they improved their sectional record to 10-0 and conference record to 14-3, finishing with a total record of 15-3.

The intensity was in the building from the get-go, as it was a packed gymnasium with all the seats sold out. Senior night was in full force as the crowd involvement was nonstop from start to finish, which left coach Andy Johnson and the Toros appreciative of the community’s involvement.

“It was an awesome atmosphere,'' Johnson said. "Our students showed up, Toro nation came on out in full force. Our band was phenomenal, our cheerleaders and dancers were phenomenal. We have such great community support here.”

The first quarter started off slow and low scoring, as Toros senior guard Matthew Phair scored the game’s first field goal with 5:35 remaining. After a 6-0 run in the starting minutes by the Toros, the Mountain Lions evened the score to end the quarter led by senior Braeden Moore.

The second quarter was much of the same, a quarter of hustle and defensive stops for both sides. Senior Nate Bogle hit a key 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to cap off a back-and-forth sequence for both sides making the score even at 18 apiece, which ultimately stayed the same until halftime.

The electricity and community support did not stay out of the halftime show, as the halftime show provided one of the more entertaining and emotional halftimes. Performing was Dancing through Life, one of Mountain View ‘s school organizations, and the support given to them was unlike no other. Regardless of fandom, everyone in the gymnasium was on their feet and clapping, displaying the values of community support in the city of Mesa.

After halftime the game switched tides, as the Toros went on a 14-3 run in the third quarter led by Bogle, who had multiple key 3-pointers in the quarter and would finish with a game-high 19 points. Johnson's message at halftime was for the team “to wake up” and wake up they did.

After the third quarter, the Toros would not give up their lead as Bogle again would have two 3-pointers to secure the win at 46-33. The final basket was scored on a field goal from Jay Tingey, one of the seniors on Mountain View, to end the game in one of the best ways possible for the senior on senior night.

Johnson praised the depth of his team.

“One thing I think it's really underrated for our team is I think we have a very deep team and we're able to keep bringing in really good players one through 17 in the game and that wears on teams eventually, especially when you try to press full court on like we do,” Johnson said.

Bogle attributed the rival play and team relationships to his performance.

“It means a lot we have so many great guys here, so many guys that I got great relationships with this year just to go out and win against Red Mountain, one of our rivals, it's a great feeling,” Bogle said.

Bogle and the Toros hope to keep the momentum against the Mountain Lions rolling into the upcoming 6A playoffs, which start next week.

“It's a good confidence booster because that was our last conference game, we finished 10-0 on the year, it's a great push into the playoffs to be awesome,” Bogle said.