Christian Babcock is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe High School for AZPreps365.com.

It started with a bus ride.

Mountain Pointe grouped together around 4 p.m. and boarded the school bus for La Joya High, where it would face the No. 6 team in the state, a 22-3 Fighting Lobos team that had won 20 straight.

But Mountain Pointe exuded confidence. Fresh off a 77-70 play-in win over Highland, the team’s spirits were high.

As the school bus wound around Ahwatukee Foothills and toward Loop 202, the Pride were loose. Some players napped. Others listened to music.

Upon arrival to La Joya, the team filed out of the bus and into the locker room. The players’ moods were upbeat as they changed and prepared for shootaround.

Freshman guard Mark Brown worked on his muscles with a massage gun and bantered with coach Kaimarr Price about whether he had stolen senior guard T.J. Tigler’s shooting shirt, which was suspiciously missing.

“We're generally very loose,” Price said. “I mean, we've prepared. No need stressing it now, just gotta go out and get the job done.”

After he left the locker room, Price milled around before the game, chatting with opposing coaches and friends. He admired La Joya’s gym.

“Nice gym, OK. We definitely want to shut this down for the year,” he said.

Mountain Pointe’s tough schedule had given him confidence his team could do just that.

“We've played everybody there is to play,” he said. “Now, we just do what we do and we'll be fine.”

Everyone except La Joya. But that didn’t bother Price.

“We've played some teams who would eat this team's lunch, if I’m being honest,” he said.

An hour before tip, Mountain Pointe’s behavior began to change. Players warmed up on the court. The confidence remained, but the mood turned serious.

Price began his pregame ritual of listening to music. "Slow stuff, pump-up stuff. Takes you through the whole range of emotions."

During this time, he transitioned from the affable person seen off the court to an intense competitor.

As game time approached, the Pride returned to the locker room. Price addressed them prior to taking the court. 

“Alright fellas. Very excited about it,” he said. “Because this is the first game in a long time where we get to go out and beat the (expletive) out of a good team by just doing what we do.

“Every team in our region, it's a contrast of style, or they have a player we gotta be really concerned about, or something they do we gotta really be concerned about. (La Joya likes) to play like us. So we just have to play our style better than them.”

Price noted that the Fighting Lobos relied heavily on star senior guard Nahshon Harper and their starting lineup.

“When we saw on film, did they sub a lot? Did you notice anybody off the bench coming in and contribute like our bench does? Nah. They can't,” he said. “Alright. So we want to run them out of their own building for one last time. This is the last game they play. All year. These seniors who aren't going on to college, this is their last basketball game.”

He wanted a different approach from the Pride’s play-in game over Westview.

“I felt last game, we came out, and we didn't go get it,” he said. “Loose balls on the ground, rebounds, we had a lot of layups, (things) that we don't do. Today, it's time we do. We gotta be in that mode now. We're on the road … Nobody's coming to save you, nobody coming to help you. You gotta go get (it).”

Price then turned the room over to his assistants.

Wallace Caston spoke first.

“Hey man, if you wanna be the champs, that means you gotta beat a playoff team on the road to be the champion,” he said. “I don't (care) what level you’re on. You have to be able to win in the other guy's gym on the road in the playoffs. That's what this is, ain't nothing else to be said. Let's go get it.”

Tony Hentz concurred with Price’s assessment.

"Be confident, but don't underestimate them,” he said. “Go out and play hard. Like I said yesterday, step on their throat from the tip-off. And don't let up, and we'll be just fine. You guys got this.”

With that, the Pride took the floor and started fast. Behind the aggressive play their coaches preached, they went up 22-8.

But the Fighting Lobos, led by Harper, would not go away. As Mountain Pointe’s aggression waned, La Joya climbed back in the game. Harper’s 8 first-quarter points kept them within striking distance. He added 7 more in the second to help cut the deficit to 35-27 at the half.

The intensity ran high in the Mountain Pointe locker room at halftime. Once the team gathered, Price launched into a fiery dialogue. He praised the play of senior forward Michael Pola-Cadena to illustrate what he needed from his team.

“What’s he doing? Everything!” Price shouted. “Grabbing every rebound, blocking every shot. Do that. Another rebound hits you two hands, and you don’t get that, you gonna sit. Understood?”

It was.

Price calmed down and made his point.

“This game is ours for the taking,” he said. “But we have to go take (it). First quarter, I thought we had that mindset. Second quarter, we were relaxed.”

Assistant coach Jason Kimbrough Sr. implored the Pride to stay positive.

"We're up on the road in the playoffs right now. Play with some energy and have some fun,” he said. “If I just walked in here and I didn't know the score, I would say, 'Damn, the black team must be down.' We're winning. We're doing what we planned right now. Stay locked in and finish the job off.”

Caston expressed a similar sentiment to Price.

"We are the better team hands down,” he said. “These (guys) cannot play with us if we do what we're supposed to do. I feel like our communication started off at a high level, and then that dropped all the way to the basement. That cannot happen in championship basketball.”

Armed with their halftime adjustments, the Pride returned to the floor. Taking control would be a tough assignment, however. 

Both teams struggled to score in the third quarter. Mountain Pointe managed 8 points, matching Harper, who had 8 of La Joya’s 10.

The game would be decided in the fourth.

The Fighting Lobos hung tough, but the Pride closed them out with clutch free throws down the stretch. The result? A 59-48 win that earned them a quarterfinal date with defending state champs Pinnacle.

"That was the most impressive win of the year because we faced adversity early on,” Price said to his players after the game. “This was a complete team win. Teams gotta watch this film and be like, (uh-oh). Now, we gotta get better every game, right? Because it's gonna be a better opponent. So on the bus, we start our game plan for Pinnacle.”

He harkened back to the team’s five-game losing streak to demonstrate how far it had come.

“When we were losing five games in a row, nobody would've thought, 'Oh, Mountain Pointe's an elite eight team,' Price said. “Now, let's show them again that we're a final four team.”

Hentz praised the bench’s ability to keep Mountain Pointe in the game when starters sat with foul trouble.

“Bench mob, great job,” he said. “We're so deep that I'm convinced even our second five and third five can go out and win games. So we've got to use that to our advantage.”

Caston lauded the team’s cohesiveness and focus.

“All we've been asking y'all to do all year long is lock into each other,” he said. “Today, I saw no finger-pointing. Today, I heard no complaining on the bench. Today, I saw no pouting faces sad because they wish they were the one on the court. Today, we were Mountain Pointe Pride.”

After a jubilant breakdown, the team headed for the bus. Once the players boarded, Price had some final words before they started back toward home.

He warned them of the challenge Pinnacle would bring with senior guard Marcus Libman and forward Tosh Baker back from injury.

“They've got a coach who's experienced, won championships,” he said. “They've got players who are experienced, won championships. So when they go to work the next two days, better believe they are focused and working like a championship team. So we have to lock in and match that.

“Everybody understand?”

“Yes sir!”

“Alright. Enjoy the bus ride.”

And with a rousing cheer, they were off.