Opponents set for 2A state championship
It wasn’t the usual high-flying, points-in-nanoseconds Gilbert San Tan Charter basketball team that cruised to the 2A boys basketball semifinals.
This time, the Roadrunners relied on grit, defense, tremendous board work and tenacity to grind out a 55-39 victory over Phoenix Christian on Friday morning at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Whatever it took, they’re just happy to break through in their fourth season in the Arizona Interscholastic Association to reach the the state championship game. That will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. against Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep.
Rancho Solano Prep will be shooting for its first state title since 2020, after eliminating Phoenix Arizona Lutheran Academy 54-47 in the earlier 2A semifinal on Friday morning.
“It was a slower performance for us, but everybody as a team really stepped up,” coach Kyli Crooms said of his 28-3 squad.
This San Tan Charter team obliterated everybody that stood in its way, before finding a tougher Phoenix Christian team posing as a state championship road block for a little more than a half.
No. 1-seed STC had beaten Kingman Academy 84-44 and Phoenix Horizon Honors 105-45 in the first two rounds. In the final week of the regular season, the Roadrunners blasted San Carlos 123-51 to send a clear message across Arizona that they have no peers in 2A basketball.
It didn’t need freshman point guard
Peyton Lubash to have his usual 21 points to survive the semifinal.
Sophmore Malakhai Moore-Neal, who is 6-foot-3, did a great job defending him.
But it opened it up for junior Zaire Richardson, who had eight of his team’s first 12 points, as the Roadrunners bolted out to a 12-5 first-quarter lead. He finished with 15 points, making difficult shots in traffic against a bigger Phoenix Christian team.
Richardson also played tremendous defense, helping force eight first-quarter turnovers by the Cougars, who had trouble most of the game breaking
STC’s full-court pressure.
“I think the key was us playing as a team,” Richardson said. “Staying together as a team, not letting down in hard moments. We really came together.”
That togetherness stood out after Phoenix Christian (24-4) held the Roadrunners to just 18 first-half points, trailing by only four.
STC jump-started the second half with a three-point play by Richardson, followed by a 3-pointer by Kylen Bonner to give the Runners a 26-14 lead.
Moore-Neal was Phoenix Christian’s best player on the court, the way he took on the assignment of limiting Lubash, who finished with just three points, all from the line.
Phoenix Christian ended up with 16 turnovers and shot poorly. Bryce Anderson led the Cougars with 15 points.
Rancho Solano advances behind Matthew Quinlan’s defense
Rancho Solano Prep (24-5) didn’t let Arizona Lutheran’s top scorer, guard Stephan Iron Shell go off, keying the team’s 54-47 semifinal win. Shell, who averages 20.3 points, was held to five points. ALA finished with a 27-4 record.
“It was a total team effort, but Matthew Quinlan, the defensive effort he had against an outstanding player like Iron Shell, that was probably the star performance,” coach Andy Trigg said.
This sets up the first meeting between San Tan Charter and Rancho Solano Prep.
San Tan Charter’s only losses this season were to defending Open state champion Gilbert Perry 82-53, in overtime against Henderson (Nevada) Foothill (88-85), and San Gabriel (California) Academy 56-50.
Since that Dec. 27 loss, STC has reeled off 17 consecutive wins with nobody in Arizona 2A coming within double digits of the Roadrunners. Rancho Solano, playing six teams from outside the state, and also playing against Perry, could pay off in a game like this.
“It’s one game, that’s why you play the game,” Trigg said. “They’re really, really good. They’re well-coached. It’s going to be a fun challenge.”