No. 4 Palo Verde looked on its way to advancing in the Copper Division playoffs, ahead by 11 points in the second quarter Friday night against visiting No. 5 Phoenix Country Day, but the Titans hit a dry spell that was too difficult to overcome.
Phoenix Country Day (25-1) avenged its only loss of the season with a 55-51 victory and will advance to the Copper Division semifinals Friday against No. 1 San Tan Charter at Tempe Corona del Sol at 5 p.m.
Palo Verde (20-6) is now the No. 1 seed of the 3A state tournament and will host on Friday at 7 p.m. the winner of the game between No. 9 Gilbert Christian (15-11) and No. 8 Pusch Ridge (20-6). Those teams will play at Pusch Ridge on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Pusch Ridge could have a rematch with Palo Verde after both teams played in the 3A state championship last year with the Lions prevailing.
Palo Verde coach Anthony Smith on his team switching its focus to the 3A state playoffs that start Tuesday after the 55-51 loss to Phoenix Country Day in the Copper Division quarterfinals tonight. pic.twitter.com/SCys6214K8
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 14, 2026
“It’s time to refocus,” Palo Verde coach Anthony Smith said. “I told them, when I was a kid you got one shot at a lot of stuff. Apparently, nowadays, these kids get two shots. We’ll get ready for the 3A and see what we can do.”
The Titans went from leading Phoenix Country Day 24-13 with 4:30 left in the second quarter to trailing 34-29 with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles outscored Palo Verde 21-5 as part of a stretch that included the Titans making only one shot from the field in a span of 11:29. They went 1 of 16 with four turnovers in that stretch.
After senior point guard Kameron Pippen made four free throws, Kamaiu Ortiz converted a strong drive to the basket with 1:01 left in the third quarter that ended a stretch of 5:15 without a field goal.
Palo Verde senior PG Kameron Pippen talks about his team’s 55-51 loss to Phoenix Country Day in the Copper Division quarterfinals. Now it’s on to the 3A state playoffs with a first-round game at home Tuesday. Bracket will be announced tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/2gOAfyUNNX
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 14, 2026
Ortiz’s basket was part of an 8-0 stretch with six straight points after Phoenix Country Day forward J.D. Jones picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench. Palo Verde led 37-34 entering the fourth quarter.
Jones re-entered the game early in the fourth quarter and scored seven of his 20 points in the period. Jaad Agha had eight of his 20 points in the quarter as well, including two of his six 3-pointers in the game.
Phoenix Country Day converted 7 of 14 shots from the field in the fourth quarter.
“Defense wins games and we came up short today,” Pippen said. “It’s alright. We just have to bring energy on defense now. That’s what it is.”
Agha’s jumper and 3-pointer in consecutive possessions put Phoenix Country Day ahead 53-48 with 1:13 left.
A jumper by Pippen with 21.6 second left cut the lead to 54-51.
After a five-second violation by Phoenix Country Day while trying to inbound the ball, a jump ball occurred with 7.9 seconds left after a missed 3-point attempt by the Titans. The possession arrow pointed toward Palo Verde.
Pippen’s 3-point attempt with 5 seconds left was off the mark.
The Eagles’ Ronnie Ross was fouled a second later. He made one of two free throw attempts to seal the victory.
“I can’t say enough about Pippen; I love that kid to death,” Smith said. “I told him, ‘I’ll ride with your shot at the end anytime, make or miss.’ Great kid.”
Pippen wants to lead his team to a state championship after coming so close last year.
“Everybody wanted to win the Open (Copper Division) this year, but we came up short,” Pippen said. “We’re going to try to get 3A for our team, for our fans, all the people who came to support.”
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