Brophy Prep walked out of their locker room teary eyed but “brothers for life” after suffering their first in state loss of the season to Mountain Pointe in the semifinals of the 6A tournament.

“That one game doesn’t define our season,” said senior guard Ian Burke following the 62-58 loss. “We had an awesome season, we had each other’s backs the whole time. We’re going to be brothers for life.”

Head coach Matt Hooten added; “They’re disappointed, but they’re also a resilient group, it’ll be difficult for them, but at some point, they’ll be able to sit back and reflect and realize that they had a heck of a season.”

The No. 1 ranked Broncos had been 20-0 in their home state of Arizona before this run in with Mountain Pointe. Their season had been full of tough, grinded out games, multiple buzzer beating victories, and memories to last a lifetime.

“It’s the off the court stuff that’s my favorite,” said senior forward Jaxson Baker. “It’s the memories like that, no matter how you finish in a season, that makes it special.”

Brophy’s senior captains seemed more dismayed by the thought of no longer playing with this team, than the fact they lost.

“To think that I won’t be playing another game with these guys is honestly pretty heartbreaking,” said Burke. “I’m going to look back on these years really fondly, it’s been a great experience.”

Added Baker; “I love being on the court with my guys, it sucks we can’t go on and play another game but I’m proud of what we did and how we pushed through.”

Hooten will also surely miss this team that will graduate six seniors, “It was a special group of guys that really bought into what we were trying to do. I was proud tonight, I’ve been proud all season.”

The Broncos, however, will be in good shape for a rebuild next year around junior guard Marques White and sophomore center Basil Ribakare.

Hooten also believes this year’s team has “set a bar.” Hooten said, “[This team] helped to elevate our program. They’ve set a great example all year long, for all levels of basketball at Brophy.”

Baker is hopeful his team has left behind a mark for future Brophy teams to reach for, “our intensity and out passion for the game is what set us apart this year. I hope the team next year can carry over the sense of pride we have for one another.”

Although eyes will now be set on next season, Brophy can look back with pride.

“That’s what I’m most proud of this season, is that through moments of adversity, our team always fought back,” said Baker. “We know what we did, we’re really proud of what we did. We never gave up.”