Arizona basketball playoffs: Third time a charm for Thatcher

GLENDALE, Ariz. - It’s called Rez Ball and it’s why about 8,000 screaming and rabid fans filled most of the lower bowl at Jobing.com Arena Friday night.

It’s why the AIA schedules lower division state playoff Final 4 basketball games in prime-time slots and why Arizona Republic staff writer Richard Obert has finished off a book on the fascinating slice of life that combines Native American culture with high school sport and a deep love for the game of basketball.

It’s also why Holbrook (Ariz.) High School – one of four teams that played here Friday from the state’s Navajo reservation more than five hours away - overcame a frigid first-half shooting performance to force a couple of overtimes, only to lose to a battle-tested and resilient Thatcher (Ariz.) squad 78-67 in an Arizona Division III semifinal game.

The fans, clad largely in Holbrook red, white and blue, seemed to will their Roadrunners back into a game they were getting totally outplayed. They screamed and hollered and stayed positive and their composed boys, fighting straight uphill from a 16-point, late third-quarter deficit, finally tied the game 57-57 for the first time since 0-0 on a 3-pointer by Bryson Keoni with 1:01 left in regulation.

It was like an explosion went off in the 16,000-fan capacity arena, which hosts the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team.

“It was so loud out there at times I really didn’t know what was going on,” said Thatcher senior guard Mitchell Goodman, who scored a game-high 25 points.

After Keoni’s 3-pointer, no one scored the remainder of the fourth quarter and it appeared Holbrook would come all the way back.

But a steal and breakaway layup from Eric Angle gave Thatcher a 62-61 lead with 1:30 in overtime. When teammate Nick Orr, a 6-9 senior, added a putback with 12.1 seconds remaining, Holbrook looked dead again.

Once again, Keoni, a senior guard, delivered, by making a 3-pointer at the buzzer, a shot that spun around the rim and fell through, causing more delirium.

“The fans definitely helped them out,” Goodman said. “It was hard to stop – the fans and the team.”

But much like they started the game – Holbrook made just 5 of 32 shots in the first half (15.6 percent) – the Roadrunners finished that way, making just 1 of 10 shots while being outscored 14-3 in the second overtime.
Thatcher, which lost two previous games to Holbrook this season by a total of five points, simply had too many ball-handlers, too much Goodman and overall balance.

Goodman’s backcourt mate Koby Alva added 22 points on 4 3-pointers, Orr added 10 points and 15 rebounds and Angle and Ethan Bryce combined for 17 points.

Both teams made nine 3-pointers, but it took Thatcher just 20 attempts (45 percent), compared to 32 attempts for Holbrook (28.1 percent), which got 18 points from superb athlete Torrian Epps, 15 by Keoni and 13 points and nine rebounds by Ryan Baldonado.

“They’re a very, very tough team,” Goodman said of Holbrook. “They’re everywhere. We never could take a second off.”

Between Holbrook’s persistent effort and the 8,000 fans that were almost exclusively rooting for the Roadrunners, Goodman said it’s no kind of fun playing against them.

“It wasn’t the first time we’ve faced them, but hopefully it will be the last,” Goodman said.  

So how were they able to overcome the crowd and momentum?

“I really don’t know,” Goodman said. “But this is what we live for. Today we just had to find a way and we won.”

It was almost déjà vu for Holbrook, which, inspired by a loud and enthusiastic following, overcame a double-digit deficit in last year’s state finals only to win over Fountain Hills.

This year, Thatcher was just too resilient.

Thatcher 78, Holbrook 67 (2 OT)

THATCHER (30-3)
Ethan Bryce 3-8 2-4 8, Nick Orr 4-9 2-2 10, Eric Angle 2-8 5-8 9, Mitchell Goodman 8-19 4-5 25, Korby Alva -15 4-8 22, PresleyMotes 0-0 0-0 0, Spencer Ferrin 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 26-63 17-27 78.

HOLBROOK (32-4)
Bryson Keoni 5-10 2-2 15, Torriam Epps 6-14 4-4 18, Jalen Jackson 2-8 2-4 8, Dakota 2-13 0-0 6, Rashaun Baldwin 2-8 3-5 7, Sheldon Silversmith 0-3 0-0 0, Ryan Baldonado 5-10 3-5 13. Totals 22-66 14-20 67.

Thatcher 14 16 19  8   7 14 - 78
Holbrook   6 12 22 17 7  3 - 67

3-point goals: Thatcher 9-20 (Goodman 5, Alva 4), Holbrook 9-32 (Keoni 3, Epps 2, Jackson 2, Lester 2). Fouled out: Epps, Baldwin.

Gilbert Christian 70, Snowflake 52

The Knights (26-4) utilized their height and a 43-23 run in the middle quarters to cruise into the Division III finals.
Connor Patterson had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Sam Jones added 20 points and nine rebounds and Roberto Reyes added eight points and 15 rebounds as Gilbert Christian held a staging 57-25 edge on the boards.

The Knights had more offensive rebounds (27) than Snowflake had at both ends.

Chase Walden had 21 points and Jake Shumway 13 for Snowflake (26-5), which had won 18 of 19 coming in.

Snowflake, which got a game-high six assists from Dallin Merrell and five more from Shumway, took a 13-12 after the first quarter but by the start of the fourth quarter, it trailed 55-36 and this one was all but over. It didn't help that Snowflake couldn't hit from the perimeter, making just 3 of 16 from 3-point range.

Gilbert Christian and Thatcher will play in Saturday's final.

Gilbert Christian 70, Snowflake 52

SNOWFLAKE (26-5)
Chase Walden 9-18 2-5 21, Reggie Petersen 2-5 2-2 6, Tanner Yellowhair 1-7 2-2 4, Dallin Merrell 1-4 2-2 4, Jake Shumway 4-14 3-3 13, Rick Shumway 1-3 0-0 2, Dustin Baldwin 0-4 2-4 2. Totals 18-55 13-18 52.

GILBERT CHRISTIAN (26-4)
Roberto Reyes 1-5 6-6 8, Sam Jones 7-17 4-4 20, Connor Patterson 7-17 8-12 22, Logan Foughies 5-14 4-7 14, Dylan Bliss 2-9 0-0 4, Derek Phillips 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-64 22-29 70.

Snowflake 13 11 12 16 - 52
Gilbert Christian 12 20 23 15 - 70

3-point goals: Snowflake 3-13 (J. Shumwak 2, Walden), Gilbert Christian 2-11 (Jones 2). Fouled out: none.

Girls Division III
Winslow 48, Tuba City 47 (OT)

With two reservation squads playing for a state-final spot, this one was predictably loud and tight and destined for a Hollywood finish.

Tuba City’s Vernene Sheppard forced overtime with three straight free throws with 1.9 seconds left and then after a Winslow missed free throw and 8.9 seconds left in overtime, the best player on the court grabbed the rebound and headed for hero-land.

Tuba City’s Jaime Roe methodically dribbled around three defenders, calmly planted and fired a 10-foot bank shot from the right wing as the final horn sounded.

The ball kissed the backboard, clanked the rim, looked like it was settle into the basket, but instead rimmed out and to the floor.

Roe, a 5-9 senior and Division I volleyball and basketball player, looked in disbelief, and eventually crumbled to the floor, her head buried into her bent legs.

One-by-one her teammates consoled her.

She had filled up the box scored with 17 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and four blocks – all game highs. Still, the final shot didn’t go and Winslow (24-5), which got 14 points by Mattea Begaii and 12 from Corey Nez, celebrated wildly.
Roe eventually was helped to her feet and following 40 minutes in the locker room with her teammates and her dad, head coach James Roe, she met with reporters.

Like she faced the last sequence, she answered the tough questions with poise and grace.

“Looking up at the shot clock, I thought to myself I have to take the last shot,” Jaime said. “I’ve hit that shot 1,000 times in my career. Sometimes you just fall short.”

She thought Tuba City (24-7) would pull it out after Sheppard’s three free throws – “I’m so proud of her,” she said of Sheppard – and she certainly did when the ball left Jaime’s hand. “I will not be able to forget (that shot),” she said. “It looked like it was in. That killed me.”

It was tough for her father also, only because he knew it would upset his daughter. The effort by all the girls in the game and his daughter’s execution on the last play was supreme.

“She didn’t get the results we all wanted, but I’m still proud of her,” James said. “I told her afterward I love her, that she had her chance, now go get another chance at the next level.”

Jaime has plenty of options, but she’ll make her college choice soon she said. “It’s definitely scary and exciting to take the next step,” she said.

Winslow 48, Tuba City 47

TUBA CITY (24-7)
Kristin Becinti 1-8 1-2 4, Shiniya Henry 0-0 4-4 4, Vernene Sheppard 3-12 5-6 12, Jaime Row 6-19 5-12 17, Tristan Tsosie 1-10 3-4 6, Mariah Begay 0-1 2-2 2, Kailee Birdinground 1-1 1-1 3. Totals 12-60 21-31 47.

WINSLOW (24-5)
Corey Nez 2-10 8-8 12, Halle Hayes 2-5 0-0 4, Marcella Joe 2-6 3-5 7, Mattea Beggaii 5-13 0-0 14, Kiersten Nezzie 2-8 0-0 5, Tatum Charley 0-2 0-1 0, Shandiin Armao 1-1 4-6 6.

Tuba City 10 16 9 7 5 - 47
Winslow   13 9 12 8 6 - 48
3-point goals: Tuba City 2-9 (Becenti, Sheppard), Winslow 5-15 (Begaii 4, Nezzie). Fouled out: Hayes, Joe.

Page 60, Camp Verde 45

After his team shot just 21 percent (4 of 19) in the first half, Page coach Justin Smith had a simple request at intermission.

“You’re the best shooting team in Arizona,” he told his squad. “Now start acting like it.”

Smith relayed his Knute Rockne speech to reporters after Friday’s semifinal win.

“Erin West was apparently listening to me,” Smith said.

That’s because West made 4 of 6 3-pointers after intermission and finished with a game- and career-high 21 points lifting Page (30-2) into Saturday’s finals against Winslow, a team Page has split two previous meetings.
Malarie Williams and Adajaba James added 12 points and Amber Tso 10 for Page, which shot a sizzling 16 of 23 in the second half to finish 47.6 percent (20 of 42) for the game.

Page went on a 24-10 run in the third quarter to take control. Amanda Showers had 17 points to lead Camp Verde (27-8), while Lila Hickey added 10.

Page 60, Camp Verde 45
CAMP VERDE (27-8)
Katie Wilson 2-5 0-0 4, Lila Hickey 4-8 2-2 10, Donnie Buss 4-6 0-0 8, Amanda Showers 5-11 5-6 17, Mayra Perez 1-2 0-0 2, Maddy Showers 0-1 0-1 0-1 0, Marissa Flores 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 18-37 7-10 45.

PAGE (30-2)
Adjibah James 5-6 2-3 12, Amber Tso 1-3 7-10 10, Boku Clow 2-8 1-2 5, Malarie Williams 5-11 2-2 12, Chelsey Rocke 0-5 0-1 0, Erin West 7-9 3-3 21. Totals 20-42 15-21 60.
Camp Verde 8 9  10 18 - 45
Page            3 13 24 20 - 60

3-point goals: Camp Verde 2-6 (A. Showers 2), Page 5-15 (West 4, Tso). Fouled out: none.