The Valley Christian boys basketball team entered the inaugural AIA Copper State Tournament as the 1 seed. The boys were looking to be the first team in Valley history to complete a 4-peat in basketball. As the one seed, the Trojans faced the #16 seed Coolidge Bears on February 12th to begin the tourney.
The Trojans started strong against the Bears, jumping out to a 29-11 lead after the first quarter. The Trojans were able to keep a steady lead throughout the rest of the game, winning by a final score of 85-45. The leading scorer was Colby Jessup ('26) with 30 points. Senior Kyle Grier and junior Paxtyn Tamlyn added 14 points each to the total. Senior Carson Grier led the team with 8 rebounds and 14 assists.
In the Quarterfinals of the Copper Tournament, the Trojans matched up with the #8 seeded North Valley Christian Academy Lions. Valley Christian jumped out to an 18-2 lead in the first quarter, playing very energetically on defense. North Valley Christian had a better second quarter making it a 42-27 game at halftime. The Trojans extended the lead in the second half and won by a score of 82-48. Colby Jessup led the team with 20 points and Caleb Danzeisen ('25) added 18 points. Carson Grier led the team in rebounds with 13 and in assists with 6. This win punched the Trojans' ticket into the final four.
In the semis, Valley Christian faced the #5 seed Yuma Catholic Shamrocks. The Shamrocks came out punching as it was a back and forth first quarter. Yuma Catholic had the lead 21-20 at the end of the first. The Trojans jumped out to a 25-21 lead in the second before the Shamrocks went on a 20-10 run to end the half. The Trojans had to regroup after being down 35-41 heading into the second half of play. The second half didn't start much better for the Trojans as they got down 39-50 with 5 minutes left in the 3rd. The Trojans then made their comeback. They stormed back to tie it 54-54 before the 3rd quarter ended. Heading into the 4th quarter, it was a 58-57 lead for the Trojans. The boys stayed steady throughout the 4th,.winning by a final score of 81-76. Junior Colby Jessup exploded for the game high 36 points. Senior Caleb Danzeisen added 5 game changing blocks in the comeback effort. When Caleb Danzeisen was asked about how he felt when the team got down big he said, "I felt confident in our team and our abilities to be able to comeback because of the preparation we have put into the season. We knew we had to start making something happen on the defensive end to get us back in the game." Senior transfer Justin Garcia was also a vital part of the comeback, adding 11 points off the bench.
The Trojans then played the Knights of Gilbert Christian in the Copper Division State Championship on Saturday, March 1st. Valley Christian matched up once before during the season, which ended in a comfortable win for the Trojans. This game started neck and neck with the Trojans only leading 13-9 at the end of the first. The Trojans then headed into the break with a 31-27 lead. Valley Christian came out strong with a quick 12-4 lead making the score 43-31. They never looked back, dominating in the 4th quarter as well as the final was 70-49 with the exclamation point being a Devin Morganfield ('26) slam dunk. When he was asked about how it felt to dunk in the state championship he said, "It was great to get a chance to come into the state championship game and put a exclamation point on this great game." Carson Grier led the team with 20 points. Kyle Grier led the team with 9 rebounds. Colby Jessup also had some big buckets, adding 17 points for the Trojans.
Overall the Trojan achieved exactly what they set out to do at the start of the season - complete the 4-Peat, win the first ever Copper Division State Championship, and give Coach Haagsma his 10th state championship ring.
Coach Haagsma reflected, "I'm very proud of this team and I'm extremely happy for our seniors. They had a goal a long time ago to 4-Peat during their high school career – that's a tremendous goal and for them to be able to accomplish it... I'm extremely happy for them."
We can't wait to watch more great Valley Christian basketball next year!
GO TROJANS!
