In his second year coaching the Fountain Hills High School boys basketball team, Jeff Bonner said he is happy to see that the program is making leaps and bounds in the right direction.

The Falcons’ 2019-20 season started on Nov. 26 with a game against Scottsdale Christian Academy. FHHS lost that match, 76-68, and ended up losing their next game.

It was in their third game of the season, against Wickenburg, that Fountain Hills recorded its first win. The Falcons won the game 67-38 and then went on to win their next four games in a row.

After that point in the season FHHS basketball bounced back and forth between wins and losses, with a rough patch popping up through January.

However, the Falcons were still able to secure a spot in the playoff tournament. Their first postseason game was on Feb. 19 against Coronado, which FHHS won by a score of 56-41.

The second playoff game was against the top- ranked team, Page, on Feb. 22. It was a close match in front of a packed crowed but the Falcons ultimately lost the game by a narrow margin, 48-42.

Fountain Hills finished the season with a winning record of 16-12.

Bonner said he believes that this season was phenomenal for his team and players.

“We made strides forward in almost every category and I think every one of our players learned something and grew,” Bonner said. “I also think that this was a good year for learning that being a part of something doesn’t mean you will be the main part.”

The Falcons experienced some challenges when it came to their roster, which forced some players to step up and fill roles they weren’t used to. Bonner believes that his guys rose to the occasion.

“Handling adversity is something we did well,” Bonner said. “We had some key guys go out early after our first tournament. We had some guys that got hurt, some guys that were ineligible and a couple guys who quit. Instead of pointing fingers and saying this is why we are going to lose, they held each other accountable.”

One area of the game that Bonner wants his players to work on next season is the variety of shots they take.

“We love the three-pointer; it’s easy for us to shoot that shot. I want my guys to work on creating other shots for themselves,” Bonner said. “That is definitely something we can work on, creating another shot when the other team wants to make you take a three.”

Bonner had a lot of fond memories and games that stuck in his mind this season but he said he’d be lying if he didn’t say that his favorite game of the season was the Falcons’ last.

“Truly, it was the last game of the season, that’s the best way for it to be,” Bonner said. “We went up there a day early, which is an experience that we need more of. The guys really connect well on the road and they handle themselves so well. Then playing in front of 2,000-plus fans and the way the game went. We were the 16 seed going against the number one seed. It’ll be a story we’ll be talking about for a while.”

Bonner said that his players followed the rest of the playoff tournament closely and realized how close they got to a title.

“They are excited to get back to it next season,” Bonner said. “As a coach, that is just great to hear.