It’s always best to end on a bright note. The Coronado Dons finish the season strong by snuffing out a late game comeback by the Desert Sunrise Golden Hawks on Feb. 11.

Junior Julian Crowley’s 17 points helped seal the 64-57 road victory for the Dons over the Golden Hawks. 

Coronado finished its season 5-16, which put them fifth in the 4A Black Canyon Region. 

“I felt like the team executed well,” said sophomore Darrian Brown, who scored 11 points in the win.

“We were passing the ball well, and I’m glad we got the dub.”

Coronado looked great to start the game, as it was able to play lockdown defense, and senior Jay Nance was able to find any open shooters on the perimeter.

The Dons were also able to out rebound the Golden Hawks, which turned into many second-chance opportunities.

They kept that momentum throughout the first half, leading 36-10 at half. Twelve of those points were from senior Ahmir Lawerence, who finished with 16. 

But in the third quarter, the Dons started to slip, as they gave up many costly turnovers and acquired four fouls. 

This helped the Golden Hawks mount a comeback, cutting the lead down to five points with one minute left in the game. 

But clutch free throws from Crowley and Brown helped seal the victory for the Dons. 

Coronado’s defense looked solid, as it was  able to block shots down in the paint, and players such as Brown got key steals late in the game to seal it.

“I think we did really great today,” Lawrence said. “We got a lot of stopped balls and forced a lot of turnovers.” 

“We played really good defense,” Brown said. “We just tried to execute our game.” 

Their stellar defense held Golden Hawks star player, junior Ky’jaun Mccutcheon, to just 17 points.

Mccutcheon came into the game averaging 22.0 points per game, which ranks third in the 4A division.

This was a must-needed victory for Coronado, as it was coming off a three-game losing streak.

And this win will be redemption for the Dons, as they played the Golden Hawks at home on Jan. 24, and lost 72-51.

With this being the last game of the season, this means the Dons will have to say goodbye to the seven seniors on the squad.

“It’s sad to see them go,” Crowley said. “Proud of my guys. Finished out the season strong.” 

Coronado didn’t have a good season in total, as their record finish is worse than the 11-14 finish from last year. 

“We ended the season really well,” Lawrence said. “Our season was bad, but I’m glad we got the win.”

Others are using the win to bring momentum forward into next season.

“I got two more seasons,” Brown said. “I just gotta keep working hard this offseason, and get right back to it next year.”