Casey Smith is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Phoenix Christian High School for AZPreps365.com.

Phoenix Christian continued their preseason campaign with a pair of games they split at the 26th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase on Saturday. The event was hosted at the Inspire Courts in Gilbert, with seven full courts of basketball action. 

The Cougars started off their first game against Desert Ridge, losing 53-38. From the jump, the game was a physical battle with both teams attacking the rim. The game held firm throughout the first 15 minutes. However, at the end of the first half, Desert Ridge began to pull away.

The Jaguars established themselves as aggressive in the passing lanes and dominated in the turnover battle. Desert Ridge took a 28-19 lead and didn't look back in the second half.

Despite the loss, Phoenix Christian showed promising signs behind the strength of junior wing Malakhai Moore Neal. Neal was relentless at the rim, finishing through contact and showing flashes of his vertical skill. 

“I just keep attacking,” Neal said. “Just keep trying to put myself in a good position to score and do whatever I can do.” 

Neal’s talent stretches to the defensive side of the ball as well. The pinnacle of this came from his impressive speed and leaped for a chase-down block in the first half,.

Among the struggles in their game for the Cougars were shooting issues. Phoenix Christian only hit a pair of three-pointers all game. Their head coach Ben Stryczek revealed that hitting threes was a big focus for his team.

“I was a shooter myself when I played, that's really all I could do, so I look at shooting pretty closely,” Stryczek said. “We’ve been super athletic the last few years, so to be a more well rounded team is a big emphasis this year.” 

The second game for the Cougars was against the Academy With Community Partners. The theme of the game became clear from the very first play where senior guard Reuben Guerrero scored on the opening tip-off. Guerrero scored 12 points in the first seven minutes, punctuated by a fall-away three-point corner shot. He finished with 27 points, tripling his first game's scoring total.

“I think I just saw the ball go in the hoop early,” Guerrero said. “You see the ball go in the hoop once and you got all the confidence in the world. My teammates really helped me with that, swinging the rock and finding the open man. I feel like our teamwork was a lot better that game.”

Phoenix Christian's only senior Guerrero has moved his skillset from mainly a shooter to the team's primary ball handler. He and Neal combined for 43 of Phoenix Christian’s 59 points.

The biggest challenge for the Cougars offense was the defensive adjustment from ACP, which switched into a 2-3 zone halfway through the first half to give the Cougars a new look. Assistant coach and former Portuguese professional basketball player Jordan Green explained that his team was ready to face the different scheme. 

“Obviously the key of a zone, if anyone plays video games, is when you hit the boss you want to hit the middle,” Green said. “So we want to try to attack the middle of the zone and I feel like that kind of opened things up for us.” 

The Cougars will look to build off of their moment from this preseason showcase as they look forward towards the regular season. Phoenix Christian opens their season Nov. 6 when they play at North Valley Christian Academy.