Alex Barcello, Corona del Sol get upper hand vs. Markus Howard, Perry

Alex Barcello and Markus Howard were AAU teammates in the fifth grade.

Now, as high school sophomore guards, they are fierce opponents, neither wanting to give up an inch on the other.

They went at it Monday night in a classic showdown of super sophomore point guards with ultimately Barcello getting the upper hand in top-ranked Tempe Corona del Sol's 106-92 Division I, Section II basketball victory at packed Gilbert Perry.

Barcello had a career-high 50 points, making 19 of 25 shots.

Howard, who made All-Arizona as a freshman, had 47 points, three days after scoring 50 points in a win against Gilbert Highland. He took a lot more shots than Barcello, but he was amazing during one seven-minute stretch when he had 22 points, scoring with an array of difficult shots, sometimes against Corona del Sol's toughest defender, 6-foot-7 senior Dane Kuiper.

"I always know going into a game against him, it's going to be a great game," said Howard, who finally showed fatigue late after Corona del Sol (23-1) put away Perry (19-5) with a 16-7 run. "He's a great player, a great person. I have nothing but respect for him."

Barcello was great in a backup role last year, but has taken over for two-time All-Arizona point guard Casey Benson, showing efficiency and toughness.

During one stretch in the first half, when Howard was going off with electric moves, Barcello kept answering. Once he had to alter his shot on a drive, but scooped the ball under hand facing the other end of the court as he was fouled. The ball fell through, and Barcello finished the three-point play.

"If they left me open, I was going to hit it," Barcello said. "If they weren't, I was going to get it to other players open."

And if they didn't have the shot, they'd get the ball back inside to Barcello for layups.

"That was a track meet," said Corona del Sol coach Sam Duane Jr., whose bench was thinned out with both Cassius Peat and Saben Lee unable to play. "Alex made great decisions tonight, made good shots. He really worked the ball. He was veery efficient."

Barcello and Howard both had help.

Freshman forward Marvin Bagley III, who had 19 points before fouling out with 4:03 left, excited the crowd with a quick baseline move, beating his man for a reverse slam.

Bagley was also good at finding open players for easy baskets.

Howard got help from Kyle Van Haren and Coby de Laveaga, who made big shots to help pull Perry to within 74-73 with a minute left in the third quarter.

But Corona can rip a team's heart out in seconds, especially with Barcello, Bagley and Kuiper bearing down.

"I cared about the W," Barcello said.

But matching up with Howard (neither player guarded each other to stay away from fouls) motivated Barcello.

"I like playing against him," Barcello said. "We make each other better. It's great competition."

They'll likely see each other again at the super-sectionals.