Marshall Baker is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Basha High School for AZPreps 365.

It was a tough end to Basha’s season with Sunnyslope advancing to the first Open Division state championship in a blowout victory.

After an emotional win the previous week over Notre Dame Prep, the Bears couldn’t quite get it together against a well-rounded Vikings squad.

The Vikings are coming off an emotional victory of their own, having defeated St. Mary’s in a close overtime win.

The game was largely dictated by the youngest players on the floor, with the Bears freshman Mason Magee and the Vikings freshman John Mattingly making their impact known with stellar outings.

From the very beginning, the Vikings came out the gates scorching hot, hitting multiple threes and fighting around the glass for offensive rebounds. Basha head coach Mike Grothaus commended Sunnyslope’s attention to detail.

“They did a good job, they moved the ball, the second chance points just killed us tonight,” said Grothaus. “We couldn’t get defensive rebounds and stops, and if you can’t do that against a good team, you’re going to be in for it.”

An 11-point deficit at the half ballooned to a 21-point deficit at the end of the third quarter, largely due to same things that got them down in the first place -- defensive rebounding and second chance opportunities.

“It’s just a want to, in games like this you just have to go and get it and make things happen,” said Grothaus.

The rim was also not as kind to the Bears tonight, having only shot 17% from deep, a mark well below what they are used to.

Basha senior Torin Bosch recognized the outlier performance and commended Sunnyslope’s performance.

“We didn’t have our best game, we weren’t talking on defense and obviously we weren’t hitting shots” said Bosch. “We were letting them get more boards, they were knocking everything down and we couldn’t hit anything.”

It appears that it was just one of those games for the Bears, and it could not come at a more inconvenient time. Grothaus reiterated this notion, knowing they weren’t playing up to what they were capable of.

“One game doesn’t define us, or the season that we had” said Grothaus. “Just wasn’t our night tonight, Sunnyslope was just better than us tonight.”

It was an especially tough loss for seniors Bosch and Tyler Lalley, having played their final game in a Bears uniform. Overcome with emotion, they let it be known what it’s meant to be a Bear these past 4 years, and the kind of comradery built within their program.

“They were a brotherhood to me, they’ve been my guys since freshman year, I just love them to death and it’s going to be missed for sure,” said Lalley.

Bosch felt no different, having hoped his senior campaign ended differently. “It’s the last time I’ll ever play with these guys, the memories will never be forgotten,” said Bosch. “I’m happy I got to experience everything with these guys, but it’s sad it had to end like this.”

Despite a less than desirable outcome and the losing of it’s three seniors, Basha feels it will be right back in the mix next season, with a large portion of their production returning next year.

“We got a great group, we’ll get back to it, this one will hurt for a little while,” said Grothaus. “It’s tough watching our seniors go out that way, but we’ll regroup, and we’ll be back here next year”.

Basha won’t be hanging its heads for long and are looking to run it back while cherishing the moments they shared with the seniors that are departing. The Bears end their season 25-5.