Maricopa outmatched on the road by Basha

In their Thursday night matchup against the Chandler Basha Bears, the Rams showed they still have a lot of improving to do, as they were outmatched in a 79-45 blowout.

Coming into the game, senior guard Triston Walters led the team in scoring, averaging 16.6 points a game. Against the Bears, Walters continued to be the leader that head coach Jason Royal was hoping he would be, scoring 13 points for the Maricopa squad.

Royal detailed that he and Walters have a built-in connection with each other, and he hopes that that connection will continue to grow throughout the year.

“I’ve been coaching him since he was in 6th grade, we moved from Chicago together,” Royal said about his senior guard. “He brings that stability to the point guard position that we need. He gets us going on offense, he knows what I want on the floor and he knows how to get the best out of his teammates, I’m really proud of him.”

Although Walters put in a solid performance against a tough team, the Bears simply proved to be too much for the young Rams group.

Basha used their size and skill to their advantage, being able to easily penetrate the Maricopa defense for close looks at the basket, as well as passing the ball out to their shooters at the three-point line.

After a big half-court shot from Walters at the end of the third quarter, the Rams were able to put some pressure on the opposing Bears, showing the Chandler squad that they were not going to go down without a fight.

However, the Rams were ultimately brought back to reality, as the Bears turned it on to seal the win.

“I wanted us to come out and compete, and I feel that we did that,” Royal said. “I can’t get mad about the loss, Basha is a very good team, and it was all about competing tonight. I’m proud of my team, the score doesn’t say it, but I am proud of what we did.”

Moving forward in the year, Royal said that he wants his team to be centered around defense and making their opponents uncomfortable. The new head coach detailed that he wants his players to stay “locked in for all four quarters on the defensive side.”

“We want to be mentally tough and physically tough,” he said. “Our calling card is defense, so we have to understand that it takes a lot of effort for the whole game, when we get going on defense, we are a tough team to beat.”

While it was a tough loss for Maricopa, the team still holds a winning record (3-2) in the early season. Royal said that facing tough teams like Basha is only going to make his team stronger in the long run.

“I think this tough schedule has built character for our team,” he said. “I think going forward, we are still a really good team. These tough games build composure, so I think once we get to our region games, I don’t think anyone is going to beat us.”