Les Willsey
Staff Writer, AZPreps365.com

Oozing with tradition, Archbishop Moeller, Ohio and Mesa Mountain View,were the final matchup of the 2010 VisitMesa.com Basketball Challenge. The teams did not disappoint. Sporting unbeaten records in the tournament and for the season, the teams gave fans a fitting marquee matchup as Moeller trimmed Mountain View, 36-35, in a classic defensive battle at Toro Gym.

It was an uphill battle all the way for Corona del Sol on Wednesday night in its bid to reach the finals of the McClintock Holiday Shootout. And it took help from more players than usual to make up what once was a 14-point deficit in the second period. The Aztecs finally took the lead with a little more than four minutes left and hung on to edge Brophy, 53-47, at McClintock High School.
Stories Les Willsey December 29, 2010

It did not take long for the Visitmesa.com Arizona Basketball Challenge to get going with some tight contests. St. Marys withstood poor free-throw shooting late in regulation and a technical foul that opened the door for Sunnyslope to tie the game in the final seconds, but the Knights prevailed, 85-78, in double overtime in the first game of Monday\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s first round at Mountain View High School.
Stories Les Willsey December 27, 2010

Hard to lose when the other team does not score. The Central High boys soccer team came within two minuites of keeping the opposition scoreless in a pair of games Tuesday. With plenty of offense to go with that defense, Central won the 12th annual Jackrabbit Invitational, downing host Mesa High, 3-1, in the title game at Jackrabbit Stadium.

Hamilton girls basketball coach Jeff Kain was not lulled to sleep when seeing his Monday, opponent -- Kennedale, Texas -- with just seven players in uniform. Kain had watched them over the weekend and knew his unbeaten Huskies were in for a battle. Kain was right as Kennedale use a late third-quarter surge to pave the way to a 62-48 win over the Huskies in the Nike Tournament of Champions at Chandler High.

The defense that normally drives Xavier was not fully in force until the third quarter Monday of the Gators quarterfinal winner\'s bracket game with Edison High (Huntington Beach, Calif) at the Nike Tournament of Champions I at Perry High School. Add in the fact that Edison features Stanford-bound guard Bonnie Samuelson and a solid supporting cast offensively and the sum was a 60-42 win for the Chargers over the Gators in the John Anderson Division of the tournament.
Stories Les Willsey December 20, 2010

Mesa Mountain View knew it had a size advantage as it warmed up to play Harvard Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) on Sautrday afternoon. The Toros took their time often enough to seize that edge and it proved decisive in a 45-31 victory over the visiting Wolverines in the first round of the Nike Tournament of Champions I girls basketball tournament at Court One in Tempe.

Regis Jesuit coach Carl Mattei was pleased as his team prevailed shorthanded. Chandler coach Zon Thompson felt sort of the same as his Wolves never gave up. But better shooting and perhaps a little more poiseSaturday afternoon was the difference as Regis Jesuit (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) handed Chandler its first loss of the season with a wire-to-wire 45-38 victory in the first round of the Nike Tournament of Champions , John Anderson Division at Willis Junior High.
Stories Les Willsey December 18, 2010

What happens when two of the best teams in 4A-II get together in a pre-Christmas showdown? For the first 26 minutes, a blowout. But Thursday night a 4A-II girls basketball game between Seton Catholic and Flagstaff still had another six minutes to play. And fortunately for Seton, the game didn\'t last another minute. Defending 4A-II champ Seton saw a 20-point lead with 6:10 remaining get sliced to three in the final 50 seconds, but the host Sentinels managed to hang on for a 60-57 win over the Eagles.

3336 articles by Les Willsey