Bradshaw Mountain boys hoops succumbs in state play-in round

Prep Basketball

TUCSON — By any measure, the Bradshaw Mountain boys basketball team’s 2018-19 season was a success, even if it ended with a loss in the 4A state play-in round on Friday, Feb. 8.

No. 11-seed Catalina Foothills, a state quarterfinalist last season, proved too much for the 22nd-seeded Bears, who bowed out of the postseason with a 70-32 loss to the Falcons only one season after winning a total of two games.

“The season did not end as we would have hoped, but I am thankful for my guys and what we accomplished this season,” first-year Bradshaw Mountain coach Blair Hillig said. “I will miss our two seniors, but I am looking forward to next season.”

Bradshaw Mountain, which last made the playoffs in 2016, finished 2018-19 with an 11-8 record in power-point games and an impressive 8-4 mark in the Grand Canyon region.

The Bears wound up second only to Grand Canyon region champion Lee Williams and runner-up Mingus, each of which went 9-3. And Bradshaw Mountain compiled its winning record with two sophomores and a junior in its starting lineup.

Catalina Foothills, which improved its record to 15-4 on Friday and has now won eight in a row, finished as the Kino region runner-up to automatic state qualifier Salpointe Catholic (17-1). The Falcons handed the Lancers their lone power-point loss of the season on Feb. 1, as the teams split their region series.

The Falcons will play in the first round of the 16-team, single-elimination state tournament at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, at a location to be determined. The Top 8 seeds earned automatic berths into the bracket and have been awaiting the eight winners from Friday’s play-in round.

UP NEXT

Catalina Foothills will learn its first-round opponent at state Saturday, Feb. 9. The conference’s 16 playoff teams will be re-seeded into the state bracket at 4 p.m. during a live bracket show streamed on azpreps365.com.

Amphitheater, Buckeye, Deer Valley, Peoria, Salpointe Catholic, Seton Catholic, Shadow Mountain and St. Mary’s are 4A’s automatic qualifiers.

Doug Cook is a reporter for The Daily Courier. Follow him on Twitter at @dougout_dc. Email him at dcook@prescottaz.com or call 928-445-3333, ext. 2039.