The Maryvale Panthers won their 6A Play-In game against the Cibola Raiders 54-41 to advance to the 6A State Championship Playoffs.
Last year Maryvale made a postseason appearance for the first time in 16 years, but was sent home in a 68-64 overtime loss to Gilbert.
This year, the win column was in their favor, but not without a close fight. Maryvale head coach Jeremy Smith was quick to give Cibola credit for their efforts.
“They had a plan in place and that plan worked for probably about three quarters of that game,” Smith said.
The Panthers went into halftime with a 28-22 lead over the Raiders. By the end of the third quarter, that lead was cut to just three, as Cibola trailed 39-36.
“I was talking to their coach before the game, they broke down and watched about 10 of our games in game-planning for us,” added Smith. “Fortunately for us, we had some guys step up.”
A few of those guys Smith mentioned include Travis Dean, Thiago Esquivel and Mikel Montgomery.
Dean and Esquivel were two of three players to score in double-digits, finishing respectively with 12 and 11 points. While Montgomery didn’t have as much of a scoring impact, coach Smith added that he contributed by “dominating the boards” and pushing the ball in transition plays.
“It was a collective team win, and that’s what I find the most pride in,” Smith concluded.
Maryvale now waits to see how the Open State Championship Playoffs shakeout for their next opponent. The Panthers won’t know who they play in the official first round of the 6A playoffs until after February 20, which is Round 2 of the Open playoffs. Round 1 of the 6A State Championship bracket begins February 25.
No Fear Press 
Leave a comment