Brophy 48
Desert Mountain 45
By Erik T. Masingill ’12
THE ROUNDUP
The Brophy basketball team remains undefeated at home this season after a win over Desert Mountain Jan. 7 in thanks to a last-second blocked shot by forward Rodrigo Furtado ’11 to secure the 48-45 win.
Forward Jordan Medl ’12 fell to the court with an injury with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Medl walked off the court on his own.
But head coach Mr. Tony Fuller decided to take Medl out for the remainder of the game and put Furtado in.
The next play, Furtado blocked the potential lead-changing jump shot for the Wolves which gave the Broncos the ball at the free-throw line to help seal the deal.
“It was great to see Furtado hustle and make a block without fouling on the shot,” Mr. Fuller said.
The Wolves won the first quarter on a 16-11 scoring run.
Brophy countered both defensively and offensively in the second period scoring 15 points and allowing four points to the Wolves to close out the first half with a 26-20 lead.
The Broncos increased their lead in the third surrendering five points to the Wolves while scoring another 10 to their total. The scoreboard showed a 36-25 game heading into the fourth.
However, in the fourth Desert Mountain initiated their comeback scoring 20 points and allowing 10 points to the Broncos closing the gap to 46-45 with 40 seconds left.
“It was our inability to get to their shooters that allowed them to tighten our lead,” Mr. Fuller said.
“Give Desert Mountain credit for their plays. They capitalized on our turnovers in the fourth and made clutch shots,” Mr. Fuller added.
However, Desert Mountain would stay at 45 points after Furtado’s block. Two more free-throws by James Harper ’12, and one last unsuccessful three-point shot by the Wolves concluded the contest with a 48-45 Brophy victory.
James Harper ’12 led the Broncos in scoring with 12 points along with one rebound. Furtado finished second in scoring with 11 points and accumulated seven rebounds.
The Broncos improved their regular season record to 5-2 while the Wolves record slipped to 5-2 as well.
The Broncos also improved their home record to 3-0. The last time they played at home was Dec.7 in a 55-37 win against Salpointe Catholic.
The Broncos will continue to protect their undefeated streak at home against the Mesa Jackrabbits Tuesday, Jan. 11.
The Broncos gave Mesa, the No.1 ranked team at the time, its first and only regular season lost last year at Brophy on Jan. 29 in a 56-51 upset win.