Mountain View falls to Mesa 62-48 in a historic rivalry at home

The energy was loud and the competition fierce for tonight’s East Valley rivalry between the Mesa Jackrabbits and the Mountain View Toros. There was no holding back, even during early minutes of the game. Fans chanted across the court, attempting to be louder than their opponents. Despite it being a home match for the Toros, the Jackrabbits felt right at home, practically playing in their backyard.

The final quarter left no room for error. Mesa was ahead 44-31 as Mountain View tried to find their footing, but struggled to get past the Jackrabbit’s aggressive defense. Sophomore guard Jakyi “Kyi Kyi” Miles put up over 20 points and junior guard Daijon Grayson had over 15 for the Jackrabbits.

“About our game play, I would say we just play aggressive and do anything to take a win,” Grayson said.

Emma Wakefield with Jakyi “Kyi Kyi” Miles and Daijon Grayson

Things looked up for the Toros in the final quarter when they caught a long distance rebound to hit a much needed three pointer. The home crowd got rowdy after that as they hoped to see that play continue until the last buzzer. The jackrabbits didn’t hold back though. They drew numerous fouls and hit continuous field goals down the stretch to seal the deal.

It was a contentious game all the way through. Players dove for passes and jumped over heads.

Anyone who didn’t know this rivalry had a long history could’ve guessed it right from the start.  The Toros held the lead early in the first quarter by collecting rebounds and rejecting Jackrabbit plays. Mountain View junior guard Jude Rose kept his team alive and secured over ten points including a three pointer late in the game.

The Toros were down by two points at the start of the second quarter when junior forward Brig Standage sank three shots from behind the arc. Fouls were their biggest culprit as the Toros slowly tried to crawl their way back up in the second half. But Mesa held the lead for the rest of the game with a final score of 62-48.

The Toros will have a chance to recover from this loss as they match up against Westwood on Tuesday, whereas the Jackrabbits will stay on the road and head to Dobson.