The Fountain Hills High School boys basketball team is nearly playoff-bound. The Falcons beat region opponents Bourgade Catholic and Northwest Christian last week, and if they win just one of the last three games of the regular season this week, they will make the postseason bracket.

The Falcons are 17-6 overall and 6-1 in 3A North Central. They defeated Northwest Christian 62-39 last Friday, Feb. 4, giving the Crusaders their third region loss of the year. If the Falcons lost two of their last three games, which they don’t plan on doing, they would have as many region losses as Northwest Christian. Fountain Hills would still hold the head-to-head advantage and advance to the playoffs, since the Falcons have defeated Northwest Christian twice this season.

But the Falcons don’t want to just make the playoffs, they want to win it all. The Falcons cruised past Bourgade Catholic 62-46 on Monday, Jan. 31, and their big win last Friday helped secure their ranking. The Falcons also received an AIA playoff basketball recently as proof of their high standing.

“I don’t know if they send them to everyone, but the top eight seeds get to host, so I think they are anticipating us remaining a top seed,” head coach Jeff Bonner said. “Obviously, that’s barring no crazy games on Tuesday and Wednesday, but we should handle business. Win or lose in Friday’s game [vs. Camp Verde], we’ll still stay relatively high, I believe, in the rankings. But if we win that game, then we’re definitely one of the top five teams. We’re five right now, so if we win that game, there’s no telling where we move.”

The Falcons usually have a height advantage over their opponents but, against Northwest Christian, the Falcons’ height advantage was limited. The Crusaders had junior Andrew Best, a 6’9” center, but he could only cover one of the Falcons’ big men at a time. Senior Alex Rieck scored seven of his 13 points in the first quarter, and he helped jumpstart the Falcons’ offense.

“I just ran the plays, did what we do best, and it came to me,” Rieck said. “I’d go up strong and really expect this tall guy to be there, and if he was, I’d look for passes to our other bigs.”

The Falcons led 11-8 at the end of the first, and they expanded their lead to 10 at the half. The Falcons capped off 25 first-half points with an improbable buzzer-beating three-pointer from junior Aiden Logan, and then the Falcons nearly doubled their score with 22 points in the third quarter.

“Honestly, our third quarters all this year have been like that, for the most part,” Bonner said. “The defense turns to offense when the guys get warmed up a little bit.”

Between Logan’s last-second shot at halftime and sophomore Mitchell Perkin’s buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter, the Falcons dominated. Rieck, Perkins and Logan all scored 13 points, tied for the team high. Entering the fourth quarter, the Falcons led 47-26, and they played several JV players for the second time in two weeks in the final minutes.

Finishing out the season, the Falcons hosted Wickenburg yesterday, Tuesday, Feb. 8. They will host Bourgade Catholic for the final home game of the regular season tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. Wickenburg forfeited their first game to the Falcons, so Tuesday’s game will be the first and last match with the Wranglers.

“Earlier in the week, we just have to get through the games and win them,” Rieck said about the final week of the season. “They’re not the best teams, and then I think all week we need to focus on Camp Verde. Our main focus is that Friday game.”

The Falcons have been eyeing Camp Verde for weeks, and their 63-62 loss to the Cowboys from Jan. 25 is still fresh in their minds. The Cowboys are 18-5 (6-0) and ranked second in 3A, but the Falcons won’t be shy in taking the competition to the Cowboys. This Friday, Feb. 11, the Falcons play their final regular season game at Camp Verde at 7 p.m.