The fire that drove the Fountain Hills High School boys basketball team to win its first game of the week in overtime seemed to be lacking in the competition just a couple of nights later.

The Falcons’ first game this past week was on Feb. 4 against Gilbert Christian. FHHS would come from behind to win the game 65-61 in overtime.

The second game of the week for Fountain Hills was on Feb. 6, this time against Coronado. The Falcons struggled in this game and lost 53-39.

This week Fountain Hills basketball has two games lined up to finish the regular season. The first showdown was Tuesday, Feb. 11, against Arizona College Prep.

Their final game will be at home on Thursday, Feb. 13, against American Leadership Academy Gilbert. The game will start at 7 p.m.

Gilbert Christian

The Falcons fell behind in the first half of their game against Gilbert Christian but head coach Jeff Bonner said that the team did not let that discourage them.

“The guys fought, fought, fought in this game,” Bonner said. “We were down early in the game and we fought tooth and nail trying to stay in the game and in the fourth quarter we came back from being down 18.”

The Falcons actually found themselves in the lead during the closing seconds but a Gilbert Christian player hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into overtime.

Again, the Falcons didn’t let themselves be discouraged and played just as well in overtime.

“In overtime, that is how we have to play,” Bonner said. “We slowed the ball down, we played our game, we weren’t rushed and we set the pace. The guys just made the right decisions and that is what I am most impressed with.”

Coronado

In their game against Coronado, the Falcons didn’t play with the same aggressiveness that helped them win their past two games.

Bonner believes that being on the road, during Coronado senior night no less, contributed to the Falcons’ apprehension.

“It was just different; a little different environment and you also have to factor that there is going to be a lot of little differences,” Bonner said. “We had a 15-minute warm-up, then 15 minutes of sitting for their senior recognition and then we had another five minutes to warm up. It was new and you can hope that it doesn’t affect your guys but I also know that they’re young and still figuring out their pre-game tradition.”

Whatever the reason was that tripped up the Falcons, Bonner could see a different style of play from his team that night.

“It seemed like we came out a little more timid, a little more passive than we needed to be,” Bonner said. “We did fine with moving the ball around but we got caught in the trap of just passing the ball. The aggressiveness to take it inside just wasn’t there.”