Story by Andres Acuna, Video by Eric Sorenson
In front of a spirited, high-energy crowd the top-seeded Desert Vista Thunder defeated the three-seed Mountain Pointe Pride in the 6A Boys State Championship 75-55 at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Tuesday night.
The first quarter was dominated by Desert Vista’s duo of sophomore guard Desean Lecque and senior forward Osasere Ighodaro, the pair combining for 17 of the team’s 23 first-quarter points.
“I told him from the start, ‘Be aggressive, play your game and don’t worry about me. I’m going to do my thing,’” Ighodaro said, when speaking about his teammate Lecque. “We just jelled as a team and it feels great.”
Desert Vista’s defense set them apart from Mountain Pointe in the first eight minutes, holding the Pride to 31.2% shooting from the field. Ighodaro, a Marquette signee, erupted for Desert Vista in the second quarter, scoring 12 points to bring his total at halftime to 20.
“Our goal was to control the tempo, slow them down,” DV head coach Gino Crump explained. “We did a really good job on defense. Couldn’t ask for a better performance from them.”
The Thunder took a 35-23 lead into the half.
The third quarter saw Lecque take over more of the scoring load, knocking down jump-shots and layups. Lecque’s total at the end of the third quarter was 19. Although Ighodaro did not score much in the third quarter, his defense supplied a much-needed spark to halt a run by the Pride, which cut Desert Vista’s lead to nine points.
A lockdown performance by Desert Vista’s defense and an efficient offensive quarter led Desert Vista to a 19-10 scoring margin in the fourth quarter.
Lecque said he believed in this team, even when others didn’t.
“I came out here and I knew we had a great team from the first day, and I just knew that we were going to get that ring. I never had any doubt in my mind.”
