Mica Mountain’s barrage of 3-pointers Friday night helped the No. 11 Thunderbolts take control of their 4A play-in game and pull away from visiting No. 22 Tempe Marcos de Niza in a 72-43 victory.
Winners of four straight games, including an upset victory at Sahuaro to end the regular season, Mica Mountain (16-10) will have a rematch with No. 6 Salpointe (14-10) on the road on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a 4A first-round game.
The Lancers swept the regular-season series by scores of 55-46 at home on Jan. 15 and 59-58 at Mica Mountain on Jan. 30.
Of the 28 shots from the field made by the Thunderbolts against Marcos de Niza, 13 were from 3-point range. They turned the game into a rout against the Padres (14-14) by making six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
.@mmhs_gobolts coach Gary Lee talks about his team’s 72-43 win over Tempe Marcos de Niza in the 4A play-in game. His team made 13 shots from 3-point range, including three each by Jimmy Leon and Aidan Erwin. pic.twitter.com/0PqJV88Rwr
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 22, 2025
“We finished up at Sahuaro with a lot of good energy,” Mica Mountain coach Gary Lee said. “We came right back in practice and put the time and effort in to get themselves ready for the game.
“They showed it. They worked hard and they developed doing that.”
Jimmy Leon, an Ed Doherty Award finalist who led Mica Mountain to a state championship in football, was the Thunderbolts’ leading scorer with 17 points. He scored 13 point of those points in the second half.
Aidan Erwin finished with 15 points, 13 coming in the first half, including a 10-point performance in the first quarter.
Leon and Erwin led the Thunderbolts with three 3-pointers each.
Aidan Erwin had 13 of his 15 points in the first half, including 10 in the first quarter, and Jimmy Leon (UTEP football signee) had 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half in @mmhs_gobolts’ 72-43 victory over Tempe Marcos de Niza in the 4A play-in game tonight. Leon… pic.twitter.com/atYOGO6nva
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 22, 2025
Erwin, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, has shown very deep range this season, making a shot from 60 feet at the buzzer to beat Ironwood Ridge in overtime on Senior Night on Feb. 7.
“We kind of got our rhythm going, got our shots up,” said Erwin, who concurred with Lee about the diligent work in practice on the catch and release of their shooting.
Leon is 6-3 and 240 pounds — a defensive end and tight end when the football team won the 4A state title in December — yet he has the touch of a shooting guard.
One of his 3-pointers in the second half was a rainbow shot over the outstretched hand of Marcos de Niza post player James Steward, a 6-foot-8 and 195-pound prospect who is averaging 21 points and 15.4 rebounds a game.
“You’ve seen him catch touchdown passes and make big-time catches and interceptions,” Lee said of Leon. “He’s got that skill level. He’s kind of got his basketball legs underneath him.”
Leon wore a UTEP football jacket after recently signing with the Miners.
While some college coaches forbid their recruits trying a different sport, for fear of injury, UTEP coach Scotty Walden and his staff respect Leon wanting to complete his basketball career at the high school level.
“A couple of games ago, they came to watch me — the defensive coordinator (Kevin Sigler) and defensive line coach (Chris Jones),” Leon said. “They love that I play basketball and that I’m a two-sport athlete.
“Before every game, they wish me good luck. They’re really big supporters. Some colleges have told players, ‘I don’t want you playing other sports or 7-on-7,’ but, yeah, it shows a lot that they want me to play basketball, to keep playing.”
The Miners have issued Leon a meal plan, nutrition diet and workout regimen as well as motivation paraphernalia.
Erwin’s 10 points in the first quarter, that included two 3-pointers, was critical to Mica Mountain matching Marcos de Niza’s output. The game was tied at 14 at the end of the quarter.
A 9-0 run early in the second quarter, that included a 3-pointer by senior forward Carlos Carrazco, increased Mica Mountain’s lead to 28-17.
The game was still within reach by the Padres at halftime with the Thunderbolts leading 35-28.
Leon opened the scoring in the second half with a strong move on the block, banking in a shot over Steward. He later made a 3-pointer and another post-up in succession as part of a 9-2 run that pushed the lead to 44-28 with 3:52 left in the quarter.
Mica Mountain advances to the 4A state playoffs with a convincing 72-43 win over Tempe Marcos de Niza in the play-in game. https://t.co/zUIKHs13Tp pic.twitter.com/xyYi1JUNiU
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 22, 2025
The lead increased to 52-32 with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter after Josh Puente and Carrazco nailed 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.
“In the second half, we wanted to keep pushing the pace,” Lee said. “We wanted to bring extra kids back in and keep the pace at a high level. They’re big dude (Steward) is impressive, so we wanted to keep a lot of guys on him.”
Steward finished with 20 points but was limited to only two points in the third quarter when Mica Mountain established control.
Jordan Porter finished with nine points, including a 3-pointer, for Mica Mountain. Carrazco had eight points with two 3-pointers.
Seven different players made at least one 3-pointer.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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