By Richard Smith
Twitter: @rsmithYWV

TEMPE - Nothing - not the big stage of ASU, not the largely unfamiliar arena backdrop, not even a mighty Millennium team undefeated against Arizona foes - could stop Ironwood from playing its kind of basketball.

And, as it proved Monday night, Ironwood basketball is good enough to win a state title. The Eagles were 17-0 this season with their full lineup.

No. 2 Ironwood (28-2) knocked off top seed Millennium (24-6) 78-70 in the 5A final at Desert Financial Arena on the ASU campus. And they did it, largely, with a defense that created offense - the Eagles had a 23-9 advantage in points off turnovers and 15-4 edge in steals.

"(Millennium) is very talented and very good," Ironwood coach Jorgan Augustine said. "At some point we got a rhythm going. We talked about packing the paint. We wanted to pressure them to make them throw lob passes and when the ball's in the air let's converge on them. I thought guys did a tremendous job and were locked into the scouting report all game."

They built this edge in transition points against a Tigers team that thrived in the full court while destroying all three playoff opponents by more than 30 points.

And Ironwood basketball won its first state title in its first championship game by embodying coach Jordan Augustine's message when he took over the program five years ago "We is greater than I."

"Honestly, our guys are confident. Since the halfway point of the season, we haven't trailed in a game for more than three minutes," Ironwood coach Jordan Augustine said. "We felt if we built a lead, we'd be really hard to chase. And our guys play for each other. I was very confident that we'd share the basketball and make the right plays."

Look no futher than the Eagles four starting guards. All four scored between 16 and 18 points in the final. While juniors Bailon Black and J.J. White played a slightly larger role Monday, this game plan and result was nothing new.

White made the play of the game, just after driving and kicking to Hudgens for a three that gave the Eagles a 67-62 lead in the fourth quarter.

White doubled back to steal a lazy pass in the backcourt and the 6-3 junior slammed it down. The Ironwood fans behind the basket erupted and their team led 69-62 with 3:27 remaining.

"I saw the pass they were trying to make to Justus. I made the right play for my team and luckily it went in," White said.

Those two points proved crucial as the suddenly desparate favorite launched into its best stretch of play in the final two minutes. The lead was 70-62 after Black sank one of two free throws.

Millennium senior forward Justice Marmara also made one of two. Then star junior forward DaRon Holmes grabbed a rebound, pushed it up the court and dished to senior guard Robby Devries for a three. Now it was 70-66.

Senior guard Dominic Gonzalez, as he did all night, drew contact and sank both free throws. He led all scorers with 18 and went 12-13 from the line.

"We wanted to make them come guard us and attack the lane," Gonzalez said.

Holmes drove quickly for two, then junior point guard Justus Jacksondished to Marmara for a layup and the Tigers trailed 72-70 

But only 29.6 seconds were left so Millennium had to foul and extend the game. Gonzales made one of two and senior forward David Teibo stole an errant pass to put the close-out in Hudgens' hands.

Hudgens made the next four free throws and the 5A trophy had a new home.

"David only scored three points tonight but he was all over the glass. He guarded one of the best players in the entire state (Holmes) who absolutely killed us last year. I thought he did a heck of a job," Augustine said.

The closing sequence was a microcosm of the second half. Ironwood led 42-33 at halftime, and every time the Tigers gained momentum, the Eagles answered with a bucket.

Holmes  finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks but the Eagles prevented him from completely taking over the game.

"We wanted to pack the paint so that we didn't let DaRon kill us like he usually does. If we lost, we really wanted their other players be the reason why we lost," White said.

hit a jumper to cut it to 44-37, Black answered with a cross-court bullet pass from halfcourt to White for the corner trey.

Marmara hit a three in response. But Teibo scored, was fouled and completed the three-point play.

"We kept up with the ball pressure and all that stuff. They did a good job. Hats off to them, their guard play was great," Millennium coach Ty Amundsen said.

His team closed the third quarter well after White made his fourth and final triple of the game for a 57-46 advantage. Jackson scored and Holmes' trey cut the lead to sixth entering the final period.

Jackson's baseline jumper brought his team within four. But Teibo caught a pass in the high post just in front of an overplaying Holmes and kicked to Black for a three and a 62-55 lead.

"Every time we got close, they hit a big three. And we had defensive lapses all over the court today," Amundsen said. "I don't know the last time we game up this many points. They did a good job. They worked harder."

Hudgens' three pointer before the White steal was the team's final one of the night. Ironwood entered the finals having already broken the 5A conference record with 286 made threes this year.

Monday night's win was more about the timing of the threes than the volume. Millennium matched Ironwood with 7 threes and actually shot a higher percentage from long range (47% to 39%)

Still the Eagles adjusted well enough to the big arena backdrop and sight lines.

"After we beat Sunnyslope (in the semifinals) coach made an adjustment to practice at ACU so that we can get used to the depth perception," Black said. "But I'm pretty sure everybody on the team has shot in an arena before, even if it was last year."

Both rosters were bolstered by the addition of talented seniors - though by completely different means.

Devries (11 points, all in the second half) and Marmara (14 points) moved in from different parts of Texas. Hudgens (Moon Valley), Teibo (Centennial) and sixth man Jaden Glass (Agua Fria) transferred to Ironwood and sat out the first half of the year.

Yet each team started three players trying to erase the memories of last season's playoffs. Millennium was in its second straight final, after a heartbreaking 38-37 loss to Gilbert last year.

Ironwood wanted to reverse its fortunes with Millennium. The Tigers won a wild quarterfinal at Ironwood 60-59 last season when Gonzalez's lane violation wiped out the tying free throw with no time left.

"We left something on the table with them," said Gonzalez, the program's all-time leader in points, assists and steals. "This means everything to me. We've been working so hard and I've been waiting four years for this opportunity. I'm at a loss for words, really."

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps
@rsmithYWV

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.