Larry Lewis scored a season-high 38 points to lead No. 1 Arcadia to a 64-50 victory over visiting No. 16 Flagstaff in the second round of the Division II boys basketball state tournament on Saturday night.
The Titans put the pressure on the Eagles early, and forced turnovers that resulted in easy transition baskets. It resulted in a 12-point lead at the half.
Arcadia moves on to the quarterfinals, where the Titans play No. 8-seeded Tucson Salpointe Catholic on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena, with tipoff at approx. 7:45 p.m.
No. 7 Paradise Valley had its hands full with No. 10 Nogales, but the Trojans did enough to get the 55-48 win to advance to the quarterfinals of the state tournament. The Trojans will be the underdog when the square off against No. 2 Raymond Kellis on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
No. 9 Saguaro had No. 8 Salpointe Catholic on the ropes, but the Sabercats couldn't deliver the knockout punch, and fell in a 74-73 heartbreaker to the Lancers.
The Sabercats led most of the way before the lead see-sawed back and forth in the final 3:22. But the same problems that plagued Saguaro all season, rebounding and getting stops at the end of games, reared itself again and resulted in another narrow loss which ended the Sabercats season.
Despite Kyle Davis and Jalen Richard pouring in 36 and 19 points, respectively, No. 12 Poston Butte didn't have enough firepower to overcome No. 5 Betty Fairfax, in a76-59 loss to end the Broncos' state tournament run.
Poston Butte trailed by only seven points entering the fourth quarter, but could only cut the deficit to five a couple of times before the Stampede made their free throws and pulled away late.
Division I
No. 9 Gilbert used a suffocating defense on visiting No. 20 Yuma Cibola to easily advance to the quarterfinals of the Division I Boys State Basketball Tournament, 79-31. Erik Crawford led the Tigers with 19 points to lead all scorers. Gilbert will meet No. 5 Desert Vista on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
No. 9 Brophy hit the road then hit No. 8 Avondale Westview, knocking off the Knights, 73-64. The Broncos will take on No. 1 Corona del Sol in the quarterfinals, Tuesday, at Wells Fargo Arena. Tipoff is set for approx. 7:45 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Division III
No. 2 Valley Christian dispatched No. 18 Round Valley, 58-43, in the Division III Girls State Basketball Tournament. The Trojans move on to face No. 7 Winslow on Tuesday at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. Tipoff is at approx. 5:30 p.m.
Division IV
No. 1 seeded Tempe Prep had no trouble with No. 17 Seligman, defeating the Antelopes, 50-32, in the Division IV Girls State Basketball Tournament.
The Knights advance to play No. 8 Duncan in the quarterfinals on Thursday at approx. 6 p.m. at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley.
