Josh Jones is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe High School for AZPreps365.com. 

Mountain Pointe fell in an overtime thriller to the Centennial Coyotes 66-60 on Thursday at Centennial High School in Peoria.

With two ice bags taped around his legs and his family surrounding him, Mountain Pointe senior Aiden Price headed for the team bus on a cold February night. He had just played in his final game as a Mountain Pointe Pride.

With less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Mountain Pointe had a one-point lead. Following a timeout, the Centennial defense forced a jump ball, giving the Coyotes possession with nearly one minute left in regulation.

Coyotes senior guard Marcus Rowe launched a 3-pointer and drilled it, giving his team a two-point lead with 42 seconds remaining. The Centennial home crowd was thunderous.

Quickly, the Pride marched down court and senior Jayven Price sank a 15-foot floater to tie the game at 54-54. In the final seconds of regulation, both teams turned the ball over and the Mountain Pointe defense made two massive stops at the rim to force overtime.

Overtime was the same story, back-and-forth play with heart throbbing moments. Sophomore Amous Price fouled out just a minute and a half into overtime.

Aiden Price fell to the ground late in the fourth quarter with cramps and was jogging the sideline with around three minutes left. As he would briefly check out and check back in, he received treatment on the bench.

“I just knew it was going to be my last game, so I’m not going to sit out,” said Aiden.

In the last 17.5 seconds, the Pride found themselves down 61-60 and committed a foul, sending the Coyotes to the line. The first free throw was made and the second was missed but the Coyotes secured the rebound, forcing another foul by Mountain Pointe.

After making two free throws, the Coyotes led 64-60. The Pride inbounded with 9.2 seconds left and turned the ball over. The final foul was committed, and two more free throws capped off an electric ending to the game and season of the Pride.

“As a freshman, the atmosphere was big and loud,” said freshman point guard Joseph Lindsey. He had two words for his next season following the loss:“work harder.” Lindsey was 4-of-4 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Jayven Price had 11 points in regulation along with a couple clutch shots late in the game. Coach Kaimarr Price praised his senior for his performance.

“Jayven Price, it was probably one of his better games,” said Coach Price. “He brought it on both ends, made big plays for us down the stretch offensively, defensively and rebounding.”  

The season was a rollercoaster for Mountain Pointe. The Pride suffered a seven-game losing streak midway through the season, getting out-scored by a combined 144 points. The team also dealt with injuries and eligibility issues. However, following the long losing streak, the Pride turned it around by winning seven of their last eight games, including a run of five in a row entering into Friday night.

“I’m proud of these guys, proud of these seniors, they’ve been through a lot of ups and downs over their four years,'' Coach Price said. "We’ve been to state championships, we’ve had on-court issues, off-court issues, but they stayed resilient, stayed together, stayed committed to the program and left a good mark on the program."

Mountain Pointe finished with an overall record of 10-8 and yet another playoff appearance.