When Noah Gifft has a hot hand, Ironwood is a tough to beat. When point guard I'yar Shadowvine is on his game simultaneously, the Eagles are one of Arizona's best basketball teams.

Casteel was on the wrong end of the Ironwood experience Friday night, as the Eagles used a strong second half to dispose of Casteel, 55-31 in the 5A state championship game at Veteerans Memorial Coliseum. Gifft scored 27 points for Ironwood, highlighted by five 3-point field goals. Shadowvine added 14 points, four asists and five rebounds, while using his speed and quickness to keep Ironwood's offense a step ahead for most of the game.

It was Ironwood's second basketball title in school history, with the first coming just four years ago and both coming with coach Jordan Augustine calling the shots.

"This is the greatest feeling int he world," Gifft said afterward. "This is a result of learning as a team and playing our best when it matters."

Both teams came out with high energy but struggled with their shooting in the first quarter, as Ironwood held a modest 9-7 lead. Gifft scored all of Ironwood's first quarter points with a pair of 3-point field goals and and a three-point play with by connecting on a field goal while being fouled and then making good on the free thrown. 
 

Casteel's Nate Huston hit a three to open the second quarter and pull ahead 10-9, but Ironwood started heating up from outside. Shadowvine responded with his own 3-pointer, which was followed by another three from Blake Carablo. The 5-9 Shadowvine then used his quickness to drive for a layup while drawing a foul, converting a three point play. Another 3-pointer by Gifft expanded Ironwood's lead to nine points (21-12) with 5:03 left in the second quarter. Casteel clawed its way back before Shadowvine made one of the game's signature plays for Ironwood.

With only seven seconds before halftime and the Eagles clinging to a 24-21 lead, Shadowvine took the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast, converting an off-balanced layup just as time expired. It was an impressive display of speed and body control that gave Ironwood a 26-21 halftime lead.

"I'yer does everything for our team," Gifft said while celebrating with Shadowvine. "He keeps our team together and he does all the little things to make sure we're prepared to execute. He makes our offense go."

Ironwood built on its lead in the fourth quarter, with Gifft dropping two more three-pointers and holding Casteel to eight points, as Ironwood held an 11 point lead heading into the fourth quarter, when the game broke wide open. Jadden Jones converted a three point play before a technical foul from Casteel's Kaelum Brown led to four more points for Ironwood, giving the Eagles a 45-27 lead that would prove insurmountable for Casteel.

It didn't help that the Colts were plagued much of the night by foul trouble. Leading scorer Aidan Schmidt  picked up two fouls in the first quarter, while Brown and Amare King eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter.

"Some of the calls disrupted the flow of play quite a bit," Casteel coach Aaron Windler said. But they made shots and we didn't."

Ironwood shot 41 percent from the field, but connected on 8 of 20 3-pointers. Casteel shot an abyssmal 21 percent for the game.

Nate Huston was the only Casteel pplayers in double figures with 10.