A cold shooting spell by Palo Verde turned into senior point guard Kameron Pippen thriving in the heat of the moment late in the Copper Division first-round game Wednesday night against visiting Scottsdale Christian.
Pippen missed all five of his shots from the field in the fourth quarter, as part of a 1-of-15 performance by the Titans in the last eight minutes, but he made four of the biggest shots of his career from the free-throw line in the final 25 seconds.
The 4-of-4 finish at the line sealed the 55-52 victory for the fourth-seeded Titans (20-5) over the No. 13 Eagles (18-8).
“Growing up, pressure breaks pipes,” said Pippen, who had a team-high 13 points. “We do that in practice — with 3 seconds left, we’re down. We have to make the free throws. If not, you run.
“It was normal. I took a deep breath, relaxed and saw my follow through.”
Palo Verde senior point guard Kameron Pippen scored four of his team-high 13 points at the free-throw line in the last 25 seconds to seal the 55-52 victory over Scottsdale Christian to advance in the Copper Division playoffs. pic.twitter.com/LGuZGrIfLX
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 12, 2026
Pippen, who is shooting 75 percent from the line, went 5 of 6 in the game.
As captain of the team, he will lead the Titans against Phoenix Country Day (24-1) at home Friday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
If Palo Verde wins, it advances to the semifinal round of the Copper Division (which includes the top 16-rated teams from 1A to 3A). If the Titans lose, they will play in the 3A state tournament bracket.
“It’s important for us because we want to be one of the best teams in general, from 6A to 1A,” Palo Verde coach Anthony Smith said of playing in the Copper Division. “By us being able to be in the Copper, for us that’s the highest we can do, so we love being in there and representing our city.”
Palo Verde is the only team from Southern Arizona in the bracket.
The Titans looked like it was ready to cruise into victory Wednesday after finishing the third quarter on a 12-2 run to build their biggest lead of the game, 49-39.
Kristian White scored four points during that stretch. He finished with 10 points. Kamaiu Ortiz (11 points) and Ethan Graves (10) also scored in double figures in addition to Pippen.
They all went cold in the fourth quarter but didn’t break.
Scottsdale Christian’s Huddy Novak converted a 4-point play after getting fouled while making a 3-pointer and he drilled another 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining to cut the lead to 51-49.
Palo Verde coach Anthony Smith has led the No. 4 Titans (20-5) to the Copper Division quarterfinals after tonight’s 55-52 win over No. 13 Scottsdale Christian. His team will host No. 5 Phoenix Country Day (24-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Eagles’ lone loss was at Palo Verde on Nov.… pic.twitter.com/d1KrOKdsba
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 12, 2026
“We were looking at the book and I think they hit seven 2’s and 12 3’s,” Smith said. “We knew we could score 2’s against them. We didn’t want them to get too hot. They kind of did get hot, but we were able to withstand that.
“It kind of shows the team what we are and what we can do even when a team gets hot. It’s rebounding. It’s the little stuff.”
After Pippen made both of his free throws with 25 seconds left following a foul while grabbing an offensive rebound, Novak made another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 53-52 with 16 seconds remaining.
All of Novak’s seven made field goals in the game were 3-pointers and he finished with 22 points.
Pippen was then fouled following the inbound pass and made both free throws to put Palo Verde ahead 55-52.
A last-second 3-point attempt by Scottsdale Christian fell off the mark.
The vociferous crowd at Palo Verde’s gym, that included a pep band, went into euphoria.
“Defense, you know?” Pippen explained for how the Titans pulled out the win despite the cold shooting. “We miss on offense, we get more tries on defense. We get more stops.
“Shout out to my team playing a major defense, attacking. We’re just like that.”
Check this out: Palo Verde’s brand new locker room for the basketball programs. Nice. Even smells brand new like the paint has not dried. pic.twitter.com/SaHtO9Hken
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 12, 2026
Although Scottsdale Christian made 12 shots from 3-point range, the Eagles missed 20 attempts from that distance.
Palo Verde had trouble making a shot in the fourth quarter, but the Titans continued to play with resolve. They took on the characteristic of their leader, Pippen, a running back/linebacker who led the Titans’ football program to its first winning season since 2009 in the fall.
“Kameron has played a lot of basketball, and the boys have played a lot of basketball together,” Smith said. “A lot of situations that pop up, we’ve seen before. Never get shaken, never rattled. Keep doing our thing and we’ll live with the consequences, whatever that is.”
Pippen is averaging 11.3 points, 7.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game.
His assists average is second in the state, trailing only the 8.3 mark by Laveen Fairfax guard Will Cason.
“Since he came here as a summer-time eighth grader, he’s been a vocal leader and a leader on the floor, calling the right stuff,” Smith said of Pippen. “Even tonight, he would call certain plays that another one would work later. … He’s an old-school point guard, pass first, but he does so much more than that.
“There’s going to be a college program that benefits from that.”
Palo Verde’s renovated, spacious locker room looks similar to that of a college program, so Pippen has that experience of a school that puts its funds and energy into building something special.
The Titans are reaping the benefits, advancing to last year’s 3A state championship game and now challenging to advance to the Copper Division semifinals under Smith.
“This is the first time hosting a Copper playoff game,” Pippen said. “We brought the fans what they wanted to see. Come Friday, we’ll do it again.
“This is what a senior wants to do, you know? Go play the best teams in the finals. It’s been great. I love the guys I’m with.”
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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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