The first full week of play in 2019 was rife with stiff competition for the Fountain Hills High School boys basketball team.

The week began on Jan. 7 with a rematch against Scottsdale Christian Academy, where the Falcons lost by a final score of 72-49.

The next game was on Jan. 9 against Northwest Christian where, despite winning the game, the Falcons had to forfeit due to an AIA violation.

On Jan. 10 the Falcons played against another strong program, Gilbert Christian, and lost by a score of 75-49.

The final game of the week was on Saturday, Jan. 12, where the Falcons lost to Pusch Ridge by a narrow margin, 64-61.

After that busy schedule, FHHS only has two games scheduled for this week. The first was yesterday, Jan. 15, against Coronado. The Falcons’ next game is against Arizona College Prep and will be at home tomorrow, Jan. 17, starting at 7 p.m.

Scottsdale

Head coach Jeff Bonner described Scottsdale Christian Academy as a “bigger and more experienced” team that was able to execute on their game plan when they took on the Falcons last week.

“Teams like that can be very, very hard to beat,” Bonner explained. “They run the same things offensively over and over again. They stick with it and make harder cuts if they have to. They wouldn’t move away from their plan, which is what we, as a defense, were trying to do.”

Unable to match Scottsdale Christian’s effort, the Falcons fell behind by a final score of 72-49.

Northwest

“The kids played a hard game,” Fountain Hills Unified School District Athletic Director Willie Dudley said about the Falcons’ match-up with Northwest Christian. “But because of an oversight, Fountain Hills had to forfeit due to an ineligible player.”

According to AIA rules, a high school basketball player can only play six quarters of basketball a night.

A Fountain Hills athlete played three quarters of the junior varsity game on Jan. 9 and all four quarters of the varsity game.

“It doesn’t count as a win or loss for Northwest Christian,” coach Bonner explained. “It is a loss for us, but it doesn’t affect Power Points and it was a non-conference game, so it doesn’t affect us to much in our conference.”

Despite the oversight, Bonner commended his team for a hard-fought game where they battled to come back from a 15-point deficit.

“Hopefully they can take some good things from that game,” Bonner said.

Gilbert Christian

Bonner, who used to be an assistant coach with Gilbert Christian, described Gilbert in a similar fashion to that of Scottsdale Christian Academy: An experienced team with a game plan that they stuck to.

“We knew what play they were going to run and they knew what we were going to run,” Bonner said. “The difference was that Gilbert continued to run their plan, even if they were rushed, and we just struggled to keep running our plan after they got in our face.”

The result was a game where the Falcons fell behind the competition, going on to lose by a sound margin, 75-49.

Pusch Ridge

One of the bigger issues that the Falcons have been dealing with this season is not coming out aggressive enough at the start of a game, according to coach Bonner.

However, in the game against Pusch Ridge, the Falcons went out on the court and dominated the first half of play. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep that momentum going in the second half.

“What our guys need to understand a bit more is that closing games out can start when you have the lead,” Bonner said. “When you have the lead you can’t turn the ball over and that is where we struggle right now. You’re looking to score, but you’re also being patient.”

In the end, the Falcons let their lead slip as Pusch Ridge went on to nab the 64-61 victory.