The Gilbert Christian boys will play in the state title game for the third straight year Saturday after dominating Snowflake 70-52 Friday night in the Division III semifinals at Jobing.com Arena.
The Knights won the 1A state title two years ago, then lost last year.
Against Snowflake, Gilbert Christian (26-4) got 22 points and 18 rebounds from senior forward Connor Patterson, 20 points and nine rebounds from sophomore forward Sam Jones and eight points and 15 rebounds from forward Roberto Reyes. The Knight dominated on the boards, finishing with a 57-25 advantage and pulling down 27 offensive rebounds.
In the finals, Gilbert Christian will take on Thatcher, which held off a late rally Friday night to edge Holbrook 78-67 in double overtime.
Holbrook, the defending state champion, rallied from 16 points down in the third quarter to force OT but couldn't complete the comeback. After missing a 3-point attempt at the end of regulation and another at the end of the first overtime, Holbrook turned it over on its first three possessions of the second overtime and never caught up.
Thatcher (30-3) got 25 points from Mitchell Goodman and 24 points from Kolby Alva in the win.
Gilbert Christian and Thatcher will meet Saturday at 6 p.m. for the state title.
On the girls side, Winslow pulled out a thrilling 48-47 overtime win against 14th-seeded Tuba City to advance to the finals.
Tuba City sent the game to overtime with a three free throws (after a foul on a 3-point attempt) in the closing seconds of regulation, then took the lead in the final minute of overtime with a big 3-pointer. But after an offensive foul on Tuba City on the next possession, Winslow freshman Shandiin Armao sank both of her free-throw attempts, putting her team back on top by one. That turned out to be enough, as Tuba City came up empty on its final attempts.
Winslow (24-5), seeded seventh, will face top-seeded Page in the finals Saturday at 8 p.m.
Page had little trouble against No. 13 Camp Verde in the semis, cruising to a 60-45 win despite scoring just three points in the first quarter.
Trailing 8-3, Page (30-2) went on an 8-0 run, went into halftime up 17-16 and then pulled away. Page senior Erin West led all scorers with 21 points.
All Division I, II and III boys and girls state basketball finals Saturday will be televised live on FOX Sports Arizona Plus, with coverage beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing for approximately 12 hours. To find our Plus channel on your cable or satellite provider, click here.
