Aleli Elizondo
ASU Student Journalist

Camelback ends season with win over Independence

February 6, 2018 by Aleli Elizondo, Arizona State University


Camelback boys basketball ended their season winning 45-37 against Independence Tuesday night.

The Spartans only had a three-point lead over Independence in the fourth quarter. With a tight score the intensity of the game picked up when a key Spartans injured player came back into the game.

The return of Colton Thomas gave the Spartans a spark.

Independence was down four points when the Spartans quickly scored eight points with free throws by Thomas and Prince Nshuti. At the 1:53  mark the Spartans were leading 43-35.


Then Camelback senior Jacob Helean stole a pass from Independence and scored.
 

“Finish strong at the end,” said Helean.

The first quarter was what set the teams apart, as the Spartans came with fire energy scoring 20 points.


“We knew we had the home court advantage, which boosted our confidence, this was our last game of the season so we just wanted to ball out,” said Helean.
 

Independence coach Matt Maragh explained how the team started with some lackluster effort, that gave the Spartans an advantage in the first quarter.

“Independence is known for our defense and we were on our heels instead of playing as hard as we normally do,” Maragh said.

The Spartans kept the defense strong even after the injury to Thomas. The team did not panic and quickly realized that with a player injured they needed to strength their defense.

Camelback coach Marlon Rhymes explained that the Spartans have been playing really well without Thomas. The dynamic of the game did not change since the Spartans kept good communication that kept the team together.

“The previous games gave us experience,” Rhymes said.

During the second quarter the Independence defense started picking up quickly and increased the tempo.


At the beginning of the third quarter the Spartans defense made some mistakes on offense. But they did well on defense.
 

“It wasn’t our smartest effort, we normally are a smarter team than what we showed tonight,” Maragh said.
 

Independence had big and stronger players on the team that were roughing up the Spartans, but that did not stop the Spartans from winning the game.

“This offseason we will get in the weight room and fix that,” Rhymes said.