In DV’s previous game against Millennial High School the Thunder came out with another win to push their record to a comfortable undefeated start of the season, going 4-0 so far.All four of these games resulted in a win by more than ten points. The Thunder had biggest challenge yet against Chandler High School who is considered one of the biggest rivalries of the season.

According to Desert Vista’s head coach Gino Crump, he looks at this game just like any other. “Every game is important,” Crump said. “Every game is a rivalry as far as I’m concerned, they’re all tough and they’re all out to get us and were the team with the bulls eye on our back.”

The Chandler Wolves started this season off with a winning record of 3 wins and 2 losses. The Thunder, coming in with a total of 11 players, were missing Jared Kincade.

DV started off the game quick with possession of the jump ball and a quick layup for Christian Anigwe and a deep 3 point shot from Tyrek Chambers in just the first 2 minutes of the game. It didn’t take long to get the crowd on their feet with an alley oop slam by Wesley Harris from E.J. Jackson.

The Thunder abounded their normal method with no substitutions in the first quarter. The Wolves were able to hold the DV down at the end of the first quarter ending in 12-18.To begin the second quarter the Thunder came out with more intense defense to result in several steals. The Thunder finally gained a lead on CHS 22-21 after a run of hustle plays. One of the hustle plays was a tipped passed, run out, and dive from E.J. Jackson to give Tyrek Chambers a clear fastbreak layup. Towards the middle of the game Isaiah Wilson suffered a hamstring injury on a fast break.

The Thunder had plenty of opportunities to break away from the Wolves with multiple good lucks but had a rough quarter converting. With less than 1 minute left in the half the Thunder went down right back to a possession game of four, but only ten seconds later Alijah Gammage scored an and-1 three pointer while also converting the free throw to tie the game. The Wolves pushed the lead to two more after knocking down two free throws and yet again Alijah Gammage scored another clutch basketball scoring a buzzer beater layup tie the game at the half 30-30. The Thunder played a good half of sharing the ball

Before the second half began, Coach Crump told his guys what they needed to do.  “Stop switching, stay home, be responsible for your man, stop turning the ball over, and turn the defense of intensity up,” he said. The Thunder started the half off going on an 11-2 run causing the Wolves to call a timeout. DV did a great job pressuring keeping Chandler From scoring. DV ran away with the lead after Tyrek hit another deep three and Christian Anigwe finished a put back dunk. The third quarter ended with the Thunder holding a nice lead over the Wolves with a score of 50-39.

The fourth quarter was kept under the Thunder’s grip for the remainder of the game. The Wolves showed they can still score but did not show nearly enough to come back and compete with DV. The Thunder continued to steal the ball almost every time they played defense. The team played aggressive scoring all of their points in the fourth quarter from inside and at the free throw line and an inside scoring game for the Thunder. The final result ended in once again a double digit victory at 67-52.

With a perfect 5-0 record the Thunder can finally put their undefeated season to the test playing Findlay Prep next who is 9-1.