The Fountain Hills High School boys basketball team improved to 8-0 with wins over Benjamin Franklin and Gilbert Christian on the road last week. The Falcons handled Ben Franklin 66-39 and came back from behind to beat Gilbert Christian 60-57.

The week started at Ben Franklin on Tuesday, Nov. 29. According to head coach Jeff Bonner, the game was a lot closer than the 27-point differential implies. The game also got a little chippy, and senior Luke Bloedel was ejected after his second technical foul.

Bloedel had six points and seven rebounds before exiting, and he couldn’t play in the Gilbert Christian game because of the ejection. The Falcons rotated seniors Jack Ervin, Aiden Logan and Napherious Doka-Johnson in the post to replace Bloedel’s impact at center, and Doka-Johnson capitalized on the extra minutes.

“Both days, [Napherious] played exactly like we knew he could, and I hope it inspires him to continue playing that way,” Bonner said. “He stepped up. I think he had 15 and 19 in both those games. I think he was our leading scorer in the Gilbert Christian game stepping into that post.”

Doka-Johnson grabbed nine rebounds against Benjamin Franklin and scored 15 points. Logan also grabbed nine rebounds, and he was third on the night in points with eight.

Junior Keaton Ort lead all players with 27 points against the Chargers, and he was second behind Doka-Johnson with 18 against Gilbert Christian. Ort made four three-pointers in both games last week while shooting above 50% from deep both nights, and he’s averaging 22.6 points per game through the first eight games.

“[Keaton’s] starting to get a reputation that he is a shooter on our team, and we look for him to shoot the ball,” Bonner said. “Teams are starting to queue up on it, but he’s doing a good job of still moving the ball around, making plays inside the paint. As much as he wants to shoot the ball, he’s not afraid to drive in there.”

Ort averaged 8.6 points per game last year as a sophomore and Bonner praised his selfless mentality for allowing him to pass and find openings to shoot. Gilbert Christian pressured the Falcons and led by 12 at one point, but the Falcons rallied from behind to win.

“It was a fight. They beat us up in the first half on the offensive glass,” Bonner said. “We did a lot better as far as not turning the ball over…and just fighting on the glass where it wasn’t so much a discrepancy as far their rebounding versus ours. I think that’s what got us back in the game and allowed us to kind of chip away at the lead.”

Logan led all Falcons with nine rebounds against Gilbert Christian, and Doka-Johnson grabbed seven. Ervin had two rebounds, but according to Bonner, he had an important rebound late in the game and drew a charge to give the ball back to the Falcons with just a few minutes left in the game.

The Falcons improved to 8-0 while the Knights moved to 3-2. Gilbert Christian’s first loss of the season was also to Fountain Hills, 66-55 in the Benjamin Franklin Thanksgiving Classic tournament.

The Falcons want to keep their momentum going, but they have a week until their next game, and another two weeks until the game after that. The Falcons travel to region opponent Scottsdale Christian on Wednesday, Dec. 14, and they will play in the Arizona Lutheran Academy Coyotes Basketball Invitational heading into the new year. The tournament runs from Dec. 28-30.

Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) state rankings for 3A schools are not released until next February, but the Falcons are making a case as one of the best teams around. As of Monday, Dec. 5, five other teams have started 4-0 or better in 3A. Fountain Hills has the most wins without a loss, but Coolidge and Valley Christian are close behind at 7-0 and 6-0, respectively.

The Falcons will continue to work over the break, but they can’t look past their next game just yet. Scottsdale Christian won the 2A state championship last year and will test the Falcons next Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m.

“Every year around the time when we have little breaks like this, it’s always a good time to experiment with new wrinkles in our sets,” Bonner said. “Teams are going to have film and they’re going to think they have us scouted.”