The Analy Flying Tigers passed their first litmus test last weekend at the 10th annual Brett Callan Memorial Basketball Tournament hosted by Casa Grande, logging two wins in three outings to capture the Consolation championship.
The annual Casa tourney, which featured an impressive list of teams, featured some hotly contested games with playoff intensity. The event is named for the former Casa Grande player who was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2004. The tourney took on added meaning this year following the death of former Gauchos coach James Forni, who died of Melanoma last summer.
Analy opened the tournament with a 56-51 loss to Miramonte, but bounced back with subsequent wins over Washington (77-48) and Cardinal Newman (57-46).
The Tigers suffered their first setback of the season on Dec. 17 in the Callan opener against perennial power Miramonte. The teams have had some epic battles over the past decade in the North Coast Section playoffs, and this game would be more of the same.
The teams traded buckets in a hotly contested first half, with the Tigers riding the hot hand of junior Aidan Toner-Rodgers to grab a 28-27 halftime lead. The fireworks continued in the third quarter as the Matadors answered every Analy surge to knot the contest at 46-all after three. The Tigers had their chances in the decisive fourth quarter but Miramonte would win the battle down the stretch to post a 66-61 win.
Toner-Rodgers was sensational in leading the Tigers with 31 points and eight rebounds, while other top performers were Nick Fujii (9 points), Travis Holmes (9 points, 7 boards, 2 assists), Dominic Tripodi (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), and Jordan Armstrong (6 points, 9 rebounds).
The Tigers were back in the win column in Friday’s meeting with defending tourney champion Washington, emerging from a tight first quarter to take a 39-32 lead into the halftime locker room. It was all Analy after the break, finishing the game on a 38-17 run en route to a 77-48 rout.
Pacing the attack were Toner-Rodgers (21 points, 9 boards, assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks), Fujii (19 points, rebound, assist), Tripodi (10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, steal), Holmes (9 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists), and Zach Binsfeld (8 points, 5 rebounds, assist, 2 blocks).
Analy met Cardinal Newman for the Consolation title in Saturday’s getaway game, as Toner-Rodgers drained five shots from beyond the three-point arc to push his team to a 34-26 halftime lead. The game turned defensive after intermission, as the Tigers maintained the edge throughout the second half to notch an eventual, 57-46 win.
Toner-Rodgers secured All-Tournament honors with a team-high 23 points and five rebounds. Other standouts were All-Tourney selection Nick Fujii (10 points, 3 boards, 4 assists), Holmes (8 points, 2 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals), Binsfeld (7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks), and Tripodi (5 points, 5 boards, assist, 3 steals).
Next up for the Tigers (7-1) is the Windsor Holiday Shootout on Dec. 28-30.
