Brophy Prep finds itself in the 2025 6A state championship after a dominant performance versus Highland in the semifinals. 

It was a team effort, with strong defense and great decision making, backed by great coaching. 

Highland coach Todd Fazio and his Hawks aren’t too shabby either. But Brophy was just too much at the end, advancing to Saturday’s 6A finale with a 68-48 road win.

As expected, the semifinal game started out fast. 

The playoff intensity was also apparent from the outset. 

A back-and-forth first quarter ended with Brophy up 16-14. But this did not deter the Highland student section, which was rowdy and supportive all night.

Highland came out firing to start the second quarter. The already loud Highland student section nearly exploded when junior Talon Knollmiller had a huge dunk on a fast break.

The play fueled Highland, as it started to play tough team defense and had good ball movement. But Brophy quickly responded with a posterizing dunk from 6-6 senior Luke Wieskamp.

That shifted the momentum to Brophy’s favor, and junior Daylen Sharper took advantage as he started to rack up some points. Sharper consistently found his rhythm while driving to the hoop to score and create free throw opportunities.

Brophy took the lead late and extended it to close out the half with a 35-28 advantage. The second half started just like the first half ended, with Brophy on fire, as Highland struggled to score against Brophy’s tough defense.

Highland couldn’t find any rhythm offensively in the third quarter, and Brophy continued to take advantage. Brophy senior Aiden Madi hit a deep three-pointer, silencing the Highland student section and fueling Brophy’s now loud student section. 

Continuing to attack the rim with success, Brophy capped off the third quarter with a 53-39 lead.

The fourth quarter started with another highlight reel dunk by Knollmiller. But it was followed by another three by Madi, which pretty much ended the game.

This, paired with good all-around play from Sharper, allowed Brophy to finish things off.

“We played good team defense,” Sharper said. “I like to drive, find my guys. Thankfully, we got good shooters. I try to get downhill and find open looks for my guys.”