Chandler Basha nearly gave away a 27-0 lead but hung on to beat a resilient Phoenix Deer Valley team, 34-28, Friday night at Deer Valley.

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“It’s a good thing I already had my heart attack because this was a tough one,” Basha coach Tim McBurney said.

The turning point of the game came on a fumble after a long completion by the Skyhawks. Deer Valley quarterback Pearce Swerdfeger connected with tight end Nate Skousen on a 27-yard pass. The Bears defense laid a crushing blow on Skousen and forced a fumble that Jordan Fraser recovered and returned 42 yards to the Deer Valley 4-yard line.

On the next play, Basha running back Will Still punched in his third touchdown of the night to give the Bears a 34-14 lead. Still finished with 175 yards and three scores on just nine carries.

“It was a big game for him,” McBurney said. “Tonight was his coming out party.”

Deer Valley wasn’t caught in the headlights as they kept plugging away. Swerdfeger sliced through the Basha defense and scored on a 13-yard run with 5:20 left to make it 34-21. The Bears were trying to run the clock out but a fumble gave the Skyhawks another chance to get back in the game.

Deer Valley took advantage of a late hit penalty, then pulled within 34-28 with 2:12 left on Hayden McClellan’s 11-yard touchdown run.

“It started to get tight and things got real scary,” Still said, “but we took the game over and got the win.”

Basha had to work its way out of its own end to grind out the clock. Still made sure that the Bears had enough breathing room with a 35-yard carry and an 11-yard run on consecutive plays to get to the Deer Valley 26-yard line.

“We went to the half up and came back out thinking we won a game,” Still said. “Then they showed up and when the game started getting tight we showed up and got the win.”

Basha (2-1) used four big plays after a scoreless first quarter to build the big lead.

Stefan Fulce got behind the Deer Valley (1-1) defense and reeled in a 60-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. Still got his first touchdown on an 83-yard surge up the middle to make it 14-0. Fraser’s block and 48-yard return of a Skyhawk punt gave Basha a three-touchdown edge. Still struck again from 33 yards out to give the Bears the big lead with 1:46 left in the first half.

“Give Deer Valley credit. They never quit at any time in the ballgame,” McBurney said. “We made some key turnovers and mistakes, but our defense did a great job with a fumble recovery and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.”

After falling last week to Salpointe Catholic, this was a big win for the Bears.

“That was a tough loss and this would have been a killer to go down 1-2 with our tough schedule, so this was a must-win for us,” McBurney said.

The Bears have a bye week before meeting Mesa Westwood on Sept. 25 in a televised game.