TEMPE – North (Phoenix) guard Daniel Bejarano hears the derisive chants.
“They call me overrated,” the University of Arizona bound star said. “They say I’m no good.”
On some days, Bejarano feels the urge to overcompensate, just to quiet his critics.
But with a Class 5A Division I state championship on the line, Bejarano struck the perfect balance between scorer, distributor, defender and cheerleader. Bejarano scored a team-high 19 points and helped hound the cat-quick backcourt of Chavez (Laveen) in the Mustangs’ 71-66 title-game win Wednesday at Arizona State University’s Wells Fargo Arena .
North won the Class 5A-II title last year, and fell in the semifinals both years prior.
“I have a lot of faith in my teammates so I don’t have a problem saying, ‘hey, take over,’” Bejarano said. “Like I said before, I don’t really need to score that many points. I have a whole team.”
One segment of the third period illustrated Bejarano’s value to the Mustangs (28-3). With North leading 44-42, Bejarano missed back-to-back jumpers. Instead of sulking, he chased down the second miss, and then fed forward Alan Williams (17 points) for a three-point play.
At the other end, he grabbed two successive rebounds and sent outlets passes that led to two more baskets and a 50-42 North lead.
“He’s unbelievable,” North coach Joseph Bustos said. “I don’t know how you ever replace a guy like that.”
Chavez (26-4) hung tough behind the play of point guard Brandon Brown (game-high 20 points) and backcourt mate Marcus Barnett (19 points). But the Champions didn’t connect on a single 3-pointer in the second half —the team’s bread and butter throughout the season -- until the game was decided. North contested every shot and its interior rotations were sound when Chavez’s guards elected to drive.
“We knew they basically had two good players so we were determined to make them work very hard,” Bustos said.
Brown’s driving layup cut North’s lead to 61-60 with 2:19 to play, but North scored the next seven points to put the game out of reach, setting off a mosh pit-like celebration at one end of the court, with cheerleaders, fans and players all bouncing in unison.
BOYS 5A-II FINAL: Ryan Zettle hit a 3-pointer with about 11 seconds left and freshman Josh Braun blocked Zeke Chapman's last-second floater as Boulder Creek (Anthem) (28-2) beat Chaparral (Scottsdale) (18-10), 59-58.
