Everett Williams is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Gilbert High School for AZPreps 365.

The Gilbert Tigers fell to ALA-Gilbert North 62-55 on the road Wednesday night after a strong swing of momentum went the Eagles' way.

Up by eight at halftime, Gilbert started the third quarter slowly by missing its first three shots then turning the ball over on its fourth possession. This fueled the rowdy crowd as ALA-Gilbert closed the margin to two points early in the third quarter.

The control that Gilbert had in the first half was quickly getting swallowed as the momentum swung hard ALA-Gilbert’s way. After a botched inbound play from Gilbert led to a transition 3-pointer from ALA-Gilbert, the gymnasium erupted. 

Fans rose to their feet and the student section became a rowdy frenzy. Gilbert tried to slow the game down. A heavily contested lay-up did not bounce the Tigers' way and the ball was flung downcourt to ALA-Gilbert’s Brandon Phelps. Phelps stepped around the defender on the contested fastbreak layup and drew the foul as the ball kissed off the window and into the net. The whistle could barely be heard through the roar of the crowd. ALA-Gilbert took the life out of the Tigers at that moment.

ALA-Gilbert took control from that sequence at the 1:20 mark in the third quarter.

“Second half they wanted it more than us,” said coach Jay Caserio. “They picked up their defense and their pressure. They turned us over way too many times in the second half. We couldn’t take care of the basketball. Credit to Coach Novak and his ability to have his guys pick up their pressure in the second half.”

The Tigers were outscored in the second half 37-22. ALA-Gilbert changed their second-half defense, switching from only zone to man-to man and zone. This confused the Tigers offensively.

“They changed their defenses so much that it can kind of confuse you and get you sped up,” Caserio said.

ALA-Gilbert’s McGuire Andrus led all scorers with 20 points and pushed the pace of play all night. Jaden Acuna had 13 points and Jalen Green added 12.

The first half was controlled by the visiting Gilbert squad. The Tigers opened the game with impressive poise as they stretched their lead to eight midway through the second quarter. But the playoff environment is something that this Tiger team had never seen before.

“That’s the first time that any of those guys have been in that environment in the playoffs,” Caserio said. “And you can kind of see the lack of experience in the second half kind of rear its ugly head, for sure.”

The Tigers battled through the tough environment, but in the end, the combination of inside and outside scoring from the Eagles proved to be too much. The Tigers have been eliminated from the open bracket for the state championship, but still remain alive in the 6A playoffs.

“Good environment on the road. It would have been a nice one to get, obviously. I am proud of my guys, but our season’s not over. We got have to bounce back in the 6A tournament,” said Caserio.