No victory is secure when Basha guard Mason Magee is still on the opposite end of the court.

For the second straight year, Magee stung California's La Mirada High with late-game heroics. The latest came by way of a dramatic, 72-67 come from behind win Friday night in a Nike Tournament of Champions  showdown at Skyline High School. 

Magee scored 13 consecutive points for Basha in the game's final minutes to secure the win for the Bears. Basha advances to the championship game of the Saguaro Bracket Saturday night against Redondo (CA).

Last year over the Holiday break, the Bears beat La Mirada in a Southern California tournament on a Magee buzzer-beater. "I guess I've had their number two years straight," Magee said. 

"But (La Mirada) is a great team so we're fortunate to have beaten them two years in a row. It took our whole team to get back in this game tonight."  
Basha had four players score in double figures. Magee (19) and freshman Kingston Montague (18) combined for 37 points.

Basha trailed 32-23 at halftime, but Montague picked up the hot hand with 11 points in the third quarter, and the Bears got to within five (46-41) entering the fourth quarter.

The Bears struggled to contain La Mirada guard Julien Gomez, who scored a game-high 21 points and got better as the game got into the fourth quarter.

But Basha stayed within striking distance (59-55) before Magee took the game over by scoring 13 straight points by taking the ball to the hoop for four straight field goals before another layup dropped with a foul. 

Inbound steals by Magee and Desean Middlebrook helped fuel Basha's 13-4 run. 
"We've played in a lot of close games over the last few years," said Magee, now in his third year as a varsity starter. 

"They can't really teach what to do, sometimes it's just all instincts."

Middlebrook and Drew Alexander added 14 for Basha (12-3).

After Saturday's tournament conclusion, Basha gets ready for 6A Premier Region play with a showdown against Perry next week at home.