The Fountain Hills boys varsity basketball team went 2-3 in the first week of competition. The Falcons won two games in the Valley Christian Thanksgiving Tournament this past weekend, and they have two more games this week.

The Falcons lost their season opener to Valley Christian 80-57 at home last Tuesday, Nov. 23. Junior Aiden Logan led the team with 19 points, and sophomore guard Keaton Ort had 13 points. Four other Falcons scored in single digits, and Ort injured his wrist late against Valley Christian, but he played last weekend without issue.

Logan injured his knee not long before the season began, so his tryouts were delayed until he healed up. Logan is another tall post player, and he's a gifted scorer.

“Aiden’s just a natural athlete,” senior Alex Rieck said. “That’s why he’s able to score so easily.”

Logan also scored more than 20 points in the Falcons’ close game with Eastmark at the tournament. Unfortunately for Fountain Hills, Eastmark won that game 55-54 with a buzzer-beater. Head coach Jeff Bonner described the shot as “an underhanded scoop a foot inside the three-point line that somehow dropped in.”

The Falcons lost to Notre Dame Prep 60-41, but defeated Mingus Union and Bradshaw Mountain High School at the Valley Christian Tournament. Junior Luke Bloedel, one of the Falcons’ four post players, was sick during the head-to-head with Valley Christian and did not play. Bloedel did play over the weekend in the tournament and will be ready for Payson and Gilbert Christian this week.

The Falcons traveled to Payson on Tuesday, Nov. 30, after publishing time. Bonner said the Payson game will be a coming out party for senior Xavier Mike, who made his first season start at Payson after dealing with health and safety protocols.

“It just sucks right now because we’re missing guys from injury and people getting back from COVID,” Rieck said after the loss to Valley Christian. “One of our best players is on COVID return right now. He’s a huge part of our offense, but I don’t think we were really quite ready enough. We’re there, we just need to do certain things better and we’ll be fine. I think after this first week or two, we’ll be rolling.”

Bonner said Mike fits right into his system, and his team has been waiting on Mike’s return. The Falcons should be a lot better with Mike on the court, but Bonner said they still need to play their game and not worry about outside factors. The key for the Falcons this week is to maintain their heads no matter what the environment is like at Payson.

“Payson normally has a good crowd, so the environment will be good,” Bonner said. “I think the one thing the guys have done a good job in the past, is understanding that we still have to play our basketball, so I hope that’s something we take up there no matter what the environment is like. You can lose sight of what you’re coming up there for, especially if you get a lead early or get down early.”

After the rival game with Payson, the Falcons host Gilbert Christian on Friday, Dec. 3, at 7p.m. Bonner was an assistant at Gilbert before returning to Fountain Hills, so his players view it as another rivalry. Especially with back-to-back big games, Bonner wants his team to take things one game at a time.

The Falcons have two more games in 2021. They host Benjamin Franklin on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. Then the Falcons travel to San Tan Foothills for a 7 p.m. outing on Monday, Dec. 13.