Coolidge Boys Basketball Advanced to State Finals Before Title Loss
March 20, 2026
Jeston Morris
Community Newsperson
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The Coolidge Bears defeated Snowflake Lobos in the state semifinals after a Pinal County judge reinstated Coolidge to the 3A playoff tournament at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 28. While the team advanced to the state championship, the Bears ultimately lost 52-41 to the Palo Verde Magnet Titans on March 5.
“We are a tough, gritty, close-knit team that played in the best region in 3A, the 3A Central,” said coach Dave Glasgow. “No one in 3A played a tougher schedule after Jan.1 than we have. We have more than earned the right to be here”. Glasgow added that the team’s goal has been to win the 3A state championship since the first day of fall work in August.
Preston Dees (Senior): Named First Team All 3A Central for the second consecutive year. He averaged 17.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game while shooting 64% from the floor. Dees is the school’s all-time leading rebounder (736) and one of only 10 players in the school’s history to score over 1,000 career points, finishing with 1,052.
Turner Armstrong (Freshman): Earned a rare freshman selection for First Team All 3A Central. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 assists per game. He recorded 81 3-point goals, shooting 38% from beyond the arc, and averaged 20.6 points in five post-season games.
Porter Dees (Junior): Selected for the Second Team All 3A Central, averaging 8.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Shane Enos (Junior): Received an Honorable Mention All 3A Central selection. He averaged 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and is considered one of the team’s top defensive players.
Enos wears jersey No.42, a number previously worn by injured teammate Adarius Miguel, Adarius’ father Kyle Miguel, Tim Siquieros, and Tim’s brother Drew. All are from the Gila River. Siqueiros played on state championship teams in 1998 and 1999. Miguel was the point guard and First Team All-State for the undefeated 2002 state championship team.
During the Feb. 28 semifinal, the Bears’ starting lineup vs. Snowflake Lobos consisted of Turner Armstrong, Corbyn Downs, Shane Enos, Preston Dees, and Porter Dees.
The game opened with Dees (50) tipping the ball to his teammate and immediately scoring. They led the game for its entirety. They pulled away in the fourth quarter and won 62 to 48.
“Today’s win felt good,” said Enos, a forward from Gila River. “Some people were saying we are going to lose and we are not supposed to be here. We proved them wrong, our team chemistry is good. Our team is there for each other,” said Enos.
Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis commented on the team’s journey, noting, “The whole week was an emotional roller coaster. We did not know if the Coolidge basketball team was going to win their appeal. They made the most of the opportunity”.
“They're the resilience team. All the coaching staff and players came together to pull off a convincing victory,” said Gov. Lewis.
“Tough one, our boys fought hard. They just made a few more buckets than we did. Proud of the boys. We didn’t have enough today,” said Coach Matthew Smith of the Snowflake Lobos.