The Fountain Hills High School boys basketball team steamrolled through their competition last week. The Falcons scored their most points in a single game in years when they scored 81 points on Tuesday, Jan. 10, and then they outdid themselves with 85 points at home on Thursday, Jan. 12.

The Falcons scored 80 points in one game last year, and they’ve scored 80 points or more only 11 times in the last 10 years before last week’s games. The Falcon’s offense was firing on all cylinders when they beat Camp Verde 81-38 and Wickenburg 85-38 this past week.

“Well, it starts on the defensive end first,” senior Aiden Logan said. “Our defensive stops will turn into offensive buckets in transition.”

The Falcons had played 13 straight away games or tournament games at neutral locations. Logan ensured the first home victory since Nov. 21 against Shadow Mountain with a 19 point effort, and his big block in the first quarter set the tone defensively against Wickenburg.

The Falcons protected home court and jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first three minutes. They were in control from start to finish, and Tuesday’s game at Camp Verde was similar.

“We started off with a missed layup, and I had the putback,” Logan said. “After that, another stop and I think I hit a three, and then we went on a 10-0 run before they scored.”

The Falcons haven’t made history yet, but they are chasing it. The Falcons have scored 101 points in two games since the 2004- ‘05 season when the Falcons went 32-1 and won a state title. That year, the Falcons set a 27 game win streak and their largest blowout win was 101-24 over San Manuel. The Falcons tied that single game scoring record in the 2011- ‘12 season with a 101-51 win over Scottsdale Preparatory Academy.

What do the currently undefeated 2023 Falcons have in common with the teams from 2004 and 2011? The leaders from those teams are still involved with the program today.

Head coach and Fountain Hills alumni Jeffrey Bonner was the leading scoring for the Falcons during 2011, and Martin Ort was the leading scorer on the 2004 championship team. Ort averaged 18 points a game that year as a junior, Bonner averaged 20 points per game as a senior.

Martin’s son, Keaton Ort, is the Falcons’ leading scorer this season. Keaton averaged 19.7 points through the Falcons first 15 victories, and he scored 23 points in their most recent win over Wickenburg.

“We play Fountain Hills Falcons basketball,” Bonner said. “We play a great brand of that basketball, and I love when we do it.”

“Playing up to our level, that’s our issue,” he continued. “Sometimes, we try to figure out the level of the competition and just play enough to beat them, or play enough to beat them by 10, where instead of that, I would challenge my team…play your highest level, and let the other team come at you if they can.”

The past three region opponents have not been great competition, and the Falcons knew it. Chino Valley, Camp Verde, and Wickenburg have a collective 8-39 record this season, but the Falcons avoided any unnecessary road bumps and beat them all by 40 points or more.

The Falcons came prepared with their best stuff for the first home game in months. Behind Ort and Logan, seniors Luke Bloedel recorded 12 points, Deisel Giger scored eight, Napherious Doka-Johnson added seven points, and Ty Cosman chipped in six points.

Tory Johnson led the reserves against Wickenburg with four points, and fellow seniors Spencer Nelson and Jack Ervin added two each. Sophomore Sam Barnard scored two points in the final minute of play.

The Falcons were tested by a capable team this past Monday, Jan. 16. The Falcons played Phoenix Christian on MLK day after press time, and the Cougars came to town with a 14-3 record.

Tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Falcons host Northwest Christian (5-9) at 7 p.m., and they’ll host Bourgade Catholic (6-9) this Saturday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. Next week, the Falcons host Chino Valley (1-12) on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m.

“They’re handling business, and what I would say factors into that the most is their attention to detail in our practices,” Bonner said. “Sometimes it doesn’t always correlate with the things we do in the game, but I can tell you we practice very hard, we run things specific ways, and we teach guys why things should work.”