The Holbrook Roadrunners placed third at the 12-team Round Valley roundball tourney held over the weekend.
The Roadrunners opened the tournament with two pool play games on Thursday. First up they faced Safford, a team they had just beaten by three points and this time the game wasn’t as close. Holbrook was up by seven at the half, then cruised in the second half to a 59-37 win. Hayden Kinlichee and Korey McReeves led the Birds in scoring with 18 each. Tynen Thomas added 9; Eric Baldonado, 6; J.E. Cummings, 4; Jarred Woody and Josiah Freddie, 2 each; and Lane Goldtooth, 1.
The second game on Thursday was a hard fought 53-49 loss to East region foe Show Low. Holbrook trailed by six at the half, then played close to even in the second half in the loss. McReeves led the way with 16. Thomas added 15; Woody and Freddie, 6; Baldonado, 3; and Goldtooth and Kinlichee, 1 each.
Holbrook played a game on Friday afternoon with Round Valley that didn’t count in the tourney standings and came away with a 60-54 win. The Roadrunners turned a 29-28 halftime lead into a six-point win with a 23-point fourth quarter effort. Thomas had a big game, scoring 23 points. Kinlichee added 15; McReeves, 7; Baldonado, 5; Freddie, 4; and Jayden Johns and Kobi Koerperich, 3 each.
The Roadrunner’s first bracket game was a 59-50 win over Morenci on Friday night. Another closely played first half left them on top by two points and they outscored Morenci 30-19 in the second half to secure the win. McReeves finished with 24 points and Kinlichee followed with 20. Woody added 9; and Johns, Thomas and Freddie, 2 each.
With the win the Roadrunners moved into the semifinal round where they met up with a talented Thatcher team. Holbrook was doubled up in the first period and never really threatened the rest of the way, suffering a 62-39 loss. McReeves led the Birds in scoring with 11. Kinlichee added 9; Thomas, 7; Goldtooth, Baldonado and Freddie, 3 each; Koerperich, 2; and Kyen Attakai, 1.
Holbrook faced Show Low in the third place game on Saturday afternoon. The Birds fell to the Cougars two days earlier, but this time they turned the tables with a 41-24 win. The Roadrunners led by eight at the half, then limited the Cougars to just four points in the third quarter to put the game away. Kinlichee led with 10. McReeves added 9; Woody, 8; Johns, 6; Goldtooth, 5; and Tynen Thomas, 3.
Hayden Kinlichee was named to the all tournament team.
After playing in Chinle on Tuesday night, where they were slated to face former Roadrunner coach Raul Mendoza and his Wildcat team, Holbrook will return home to host Blue Ridge on Friday night, Dec. 16.
