The Fountain Hills High School boys basketball post season came to a close this past week but head coach Jeff Bonner couldn’t think of a better game to end the season on.

The Falcons’ first game last week was on Feb. 19 against Coronado. FHHS won the game 56-41.

Three days later on Feb. 22, Fountain Hills travelled north to take on the top-ranked Page. The Falcons stayed in the game the whole time but ultimately lost, 48-42.

Coronado

Heading into the postseason, where every game could be the last, Bonner noticed that his team had a different level of focus than they did during the regular season.

“The guys came into this playoff run knowing that they needed to be focused,” Bonner said. “You could see it in our practices leading up to the game. They listened to what we were saying, made adjustments and just tried all the way through the game.”

Bonner and his team practiced to play against the best version of Coronado but found out when they got to the game that some of Coronado’s players were ineligible.

“Our guys came out and played very hard, expecting Coronado to be at full strength,” Bonner explained. “They were not, but that didn’t matter to us. The guys really locked in defensively; it seemed to really click for them (the Falcons) during this game.”

Overall Bonner describes this first playoff win as “a great team victory” where everyone got to play and was a good boost going into Saturday’s game against Page.

Page

The Falcons headed up a day early for this weekend game to get a practice in so they could adjust to playing in the high altitude of Page.

“Obviously, you need some time to acclimate to the elevation but we also wanted to get the guys comfortable in the new surroundings,” Bonner explained. “(Page) has a different type of gym with stands that go up what seems like three stories. The floor is also a bit longer and wider. As a basketball player, you know, those little things matter.”

Another difference is that Page’s gym can hold 2,000-plus attendees compared to Fountain Hills’ gym, which hold about 500. Come game day, the team saw that difference.

“We got to the gym about two and half hours early and there are people lined up around the building and the parking lot is full of cars,” Bonner said. “It was nuts to see and the guys were pretty wowed.”

Bonner said that while his team might have been taken aback at first by the crowed size, the guys quickly settled into their rhythm during warm-ups.

It is a good thing they settled because the game required that the Falcons be at peak performance.

“It was an action-packed game,” Bonner said. “It was just a great game to be a part of. The kids played hard, we made adjustments from man to zone defense or in the plays we ran and the guys fought tooth and nail to give us what we needed to win that game. I don’t think the game ever spread out over eight points.”

Bonner said that when it came down to it, it was free throw shots that decided the game and Page just had more opportunities on their way to the 48-42 victory.

At the end of the day, though, Bonner suspected everyone in attendance could agree that they had just seen some great basketball.

“The fans were great,” Bonner said. “They came up and complimented myself, they complimented the guys and they seemed to just know that they had witnessed a great high school basketball game.”