The Azalea boys 8th grade basketball team participated in the 53rd Annual Crescent City Jaycees Boy Basketball Tournament that began Friday evening March 4th, and finishing Saturday.
After finishing their 2022 season 12-1, with their only regular season loss to Crescent Elk, and then winning the Marshfield Tournament, the AZ Bruins were invited to participate in the AAA Division bracket coach Dustin Carmack told the Compass.
Placement in the AAA bracket matched the Azalea boys against the eventual tournament champion Pacific Union. The Azalea boys led into the 4th period of play before Pacific Union forced the AZ Bruins into foul trouble late, defeating the Azalea boys in the opener. The loss however, set up a rematch between the AZ Bruins and Crescent Elk, who both shared their only season losses at home, at the expense of the other.
Both teams battled back and forth, with the AZ Bruins taking the first quarter 11-8, and Crescent Elk turning the tables in the second holding the Bruin boys to just 4 points to take a 15-21 lead at the half. The Bruin boys shut down Crescent Elk in the third to the game at 27-27. The two teams would play to a fourth quarter tie after Crescent Elk hit a half court shot at the buzzer, to send the game to overtime. In the overtime period four Bruin boys put up 9 points while holding Crescent Elk to just 8 points, advancing the Bruin boys to the Consolation Finals.
After the exhausting overtime battle earlier in the day, the AZ Bruin boys took to the floor early Saturday evening in a match-up against Zane Middle School Falcons from Eureka and took an early 7-6 lead midway through the first. AZ Bruin Deryk Farmer #24 led the way with 3 baskets for 6 points in the period, followed by #34 Hank Flescher who hit a 3 pointer as the Bruin boys took the first period 13-10.
Zane tightened their defense in the second period allowing only two Bruin boys to score in the period as #14 Tristan Long added two baskets to his 2 points in the first for 6 points in the half, and Farmer went 2 for 2 from the line and hit a basket as the Bruin boys were held to just 8 points. The AZ Bruin defense continued to be strong, allowing only 9 Zane points in the period to take a 21-19 lead into the half.
In the third period, the Bruin boys could not get shots to fall after working through Zane’s full court press, falling behind for the first time in the contest 23-26 midway through the third period. The bounces continued to fall Zane’s way as the Bruin boys failed to hit a basket and would only score 2 points in the third off of two Deryk Farmer freethrows.
Now trailing 23-35 to start the fourth period, continued to create scoring opportunities that would not fall, managing 7 points in the period while holding Zane to just 9 points after a 16 point third period. But the Bruin boys would not be able to close the gap, falling 30-44 in their final game of their 2022 season.
“The kids played their hearts out…” head coach Dustin Carmack said after the game, “by our third game against Zane, after the first two grueling games, we were exhausted…” he conitinued. “It was a very successful season for these young men and we had a lot of fun together playing very good basketball, and improving throughout the season.”
