PHOENIX — From four games under .500 six weeks ago to feeling on top of the world as champions — the Pusch Ridge boys basketball story.
When Pusch Ridge lost at home to Palo Verde on Jan. 17, the Lions were 6-10 and losers of eight out of nine games.
Late Saturday afternoon, the Lions lofted the 3A state championship trophy in the air as an 11th seed after defeating the No. 5 Titans 69-46 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Pusch Ridge, which earned its first state title in boys basketball, finished 13-1 after the earlier loss against the Titans.
“We figured out toward the end of the season how to play with each other and how we can really gel and how we can connect as 11 guys — and we played as one,” said sophomore guard Noah McKinney, who had 15 points while making 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range Saturday.
Noah McKinney is only a sophomore and he already is part of two state championship teams at Pusch Ridge – football and basketball this school year. The Lions’ leading scorer this season in hoops finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in the 69-46 win over Palo… pic.twitter.com/iyPOeKMAXZ
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) March 2, 2025
The Lions gradually bought into playing under second-year coach Steve Solita, who was adapting to being a varsity head coach for the first time after spending 15 years as an assistant coach at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colo.
Solita coached Pusch Ridge’s junior varsity team in 2022-23 after moving from Aurora to Tucson to live in a warmer climate with his wife, Jo Ellen, who retired from teaching. He was brought on to the coaching staff by former Pusch Ridge athletic director Lonnie Tvrdy.
When a vacancy for the varsity head coaching opened before last season, Solita applied for the position and athletic director Amy Garnand hired him to fill that role.
The Lions enjoyed immediate success under Solita last season, winning the 3A South title and finishing 16-11 overall.
“It’s been a great ride; it’s been a very short time,” Solita said. “What I can’t say enough about is the character of the kids at Pusch Ridge. They’re quality kids and they show that out on the floor.
“There’s a lot of people responsible for my success. I couldn’t do it without my assistant coaches. I couldn’t do it without AD support from Amy Garnand and previously Lonnie Tvrdy. And then there’s a group of coaches at Colorado, led by Ken Shaw at Regis Jesuit High School … they mentored me along inch by inch, foot by foot. You know what? Now, it’s just beared itself out.”
Solita celebrating with with team after removing the net from the rim: https://t.co/e04b0xwtvs pic.twitter.com/9FLkBrzUhX
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) March 2, 2025
The play of senior guard Isaac Hardeman symbolizes Pusch Ridge’s dramatic turnaround this season.
In the previous game against Palo Verde, won by the Titans 51-48, Hardeman had only five points while attempting just six shots.
In the first quarter Saturday, Pusch Ridge went on a 13-2 run to establish a 15-4 lead, and Hardeman scored the last eight points of that stretch.
He had 18 points at halftime, almost outscoring Palo Verde at that point with the Lions leading 35-20.
The Titans did not get closer than 13 points in the second half after Pusch Ridge went on a 12-3 run to open the third quarter, extending the lead to 47-23.
Hardeman finished with 24 points after making 9 of 12 shots from the field, 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, and he had four assists and two steals.
“Yesterday (in the 55-53 semifinal win over No. 2 Florence on Friday), there were a lot of nerves being in this huge stadium for the first time,” Hardeman said when asked about why he started strongly. “Today, a lot of the nerves turned into excitement. I was able to calm down and hit my shots.
“A lot of my teammates gave me open looks and (were) confident in me, just knocking it down and listening to the crowd, it was really awesome.”
Game for the ages, especially at Pusch Ridge, for senior guard Isaac Hardeman.
He almost outscored Palo Verde in the first half by himself with 18 points (Lions led 35-20 at halftime). He finished with 24 points in the 69-46 victory, the leader in a game that enabled Pusch Ridge… pic.twitter.com/Ev7FBuG6da— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) March 2, 2025
Palo Verde advanced to the championship game after upsetting No. 1 Benjamin Franklin 52-48 on Saturday.
The Titans have talented players such as Kameron Pippen (team-high 16 points against Pusch Ridge) and Daniel Ortiz (nine points and five rebounds), but the Lions’ shooting, playmaking and defense were too much.
Pusch Ridge shot 45.5 percent from the field, 58.8 percent from 3-point rage (10 of 17), and had 14 assists with only 10 turnovers and limited Palo Verde to 34 percent shooting from the field and 17.6 percent from 3-point range (3 of 17).
“We were the underdogs coming in and we knew that,” McKinney said. “We knew that nobody was really picking us. We knew it was going to be a hard road but we have grit and we have grind.
“I love this team, man. We work so hard. We got it done in the end.”
Game for the ages, especially at Pusch Ridge, for senior guard Isaac Hardeman.
He almost outscored Palo Verde in the first half by himself with 18 points (Lions led 35-20 at halftime). He finished with 24 points in the 69-46 victory, the leader in a game that enabled Pusch Ridge… pic.twitter.com/Ev7FBuG6da— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) March 2, 2025
McKinney was on two teams this school year that got it done. He was part of the Lions’ football program that won a state title at the end of November.
Palo Verde remains without a state title in boys hoops after losing Saturday and in the 1999-2000 final to Dick McConnell’s Sahuaro program.
Fourth-year coach Anthony Smith has the program going in the right direction, especially with Pippen, the state’s leader in assists at 7.4 a game, returning for his senior season next year.
Solita will build his team around McKinney, one of the top Class of 2027 prospects in the state, by continuing to make Pusch Ridge a year-round program. That’s the mindset he implemented with his team when he became a varsity coach for the first time last season.
“Basketball has a season, but you have to work it at longer than the season to be good at it,” he said. “We have a good offseason program and then we start the season. Commitment is a big part of that.
“We have a high level of commitment at Pusch Ridge because of the quality of the kids. We taught the fundamentals of defense and offense and just did the best we could and they absorbed it. They got better and better and we just happen to be playing our best at the most important time of the season.”
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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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