Mesa, Ariz. – The Villages High School boys basketball team swept its way through a loaded tournament field to win the Section 7 City of Mesa bracket championship Sunday in Arizona.

The Buffalo went a perfect 4-0 over three days of play inside the Arizona Athletic Grounds, capping their run through the NCAA Live Period event with a 70-68 win over Corona Centennial (Corona, Calif.) in the title game.

Aaron Britt, Jr. led four VHS players to finish in double figures throughout the weekend, as he averaged a team-high 23.8 points per game over the four contests. He also averaged 6.8 assists per game and shot 50% (12-of-24) from beyond the arc.

Zayden Garcia averaged 13 points per game and Miles Simpson nearly averaged a double-double with 12.5 points and nine rebounds per contest, respectively, while Jomar Bernard tallied 11.5 points per game.

The Villages opened play Friday with a 61-57 win over St. Joseph's (Santa Maria, Calif.), who finished as the No. 4 ranked team in California last winter, before picking up a pair of victories on Saturday.

VHS ran away from Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) for a 66-55 victory in a rematch from last year's Section 7 event early in the day, with its ticket punched to the bracket championship game with a 70-64 win over La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.) later in the evening.

The Buffalo started strong in Sunday's championship matchup against Corona Centennial, using an efficient offensive output to take a 40-29 lead at the half.

Centennial battled back to tie the score first at 60-60 and then again at 66-66, before a clutch 3-pointer late from Garcia put The Villages up for good. Garcia, a rising sophomore for VHS, led the team with 21 points and went a perfect 5-of-5 on three-point attempts.

Perimeter shooting was a strength for VHS over the four games in Arizona, as they shot 40% (27-of-67) from beyond the arc, including a 10-for-16 effort in Sunday's finale.


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org.