Miles Sadler knows how it sounds, but when his No. 9 CIA Bella Vista Prep squad fell behind early to No. 1 AZ Compass Prep he was overcome with excitement.
Yes, the Bears were trailing but the EYBL Scholastic Player of the Year knew one undeniable truth about himself.
“I play better when I’ve got adversity,” said Sadler, a West Virginia signee. “When my back is against the wall I know I’m always gonna respond. That’s how I am, and that’s how this team is.”
The Bears made good on that scouting report, rolling to the 69-65 win over the Dragons and claiming the EYBL Scholastic conference tournament title in the process.
“We’re all excited to get the win,” said Sadler, who posted 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the win. “Our team’s confidence is already at an all-time high but coming out and winning the championship in the toughest conference in the country takes that confidence to another level.”
The Bears’ road to the championship was treacherous to say the least.
First, the Bears took out Long Island Lutheran 65-51 then they outlasted No. 2 Montverde Academy 69-65.
Bella Vista rolled past SPIRE Academy 70-53 before ultimately taking down AZ Compass on Sunday.
Bears coach DJ Wright said the focus coming into the championship game was to remain even keel.
“We instill a lot of confidence in our guys, but we never want them to get too high or too low,” Wright said. “We just wanted to approach the game with a winner’s mentality and play our type of basketball and that always gives us the best chance to win.”
Now, Miles and the Bears have their sights set on more wins, this time at Chipotle Nationals next month.
The Bears earned an automatic bid by winning the conference crown.
“I feel like we’re playing our best basketball right now and everyone on the team has bought into their roles,” Sadler said.