The Roadrunners won a game of momentum swings at Chinle on Friday night, eventually surging ahead of the hometown Wildcats in the final quarter to win the game 79-60.
Early in the second period the Wildcats led Holbrook 21-11, much to the delight of the nearly 4,000 fans in attendance, but the Roadrunners battled back to lead by one at the break. In the third the Birds opened up their own double-digit lead only to have Chinle come back and make it a two-point game heading into the fourth period. In the fourth, Holbrook finally took control for good, outscoring Chinle 25-8 over the final eight minutes to win the regular season finale.
Jalen Jackson scored eight of his game high 23 points in the fourth. Torrian Epps added 17; Bryson Keoni, 15; Rashaun Baldwin, 14; Sheldon Silversmith, 5; Dakota Lester, 3; and Brandon Bitsui, 2. The Birds shot very well at the charity line, making 18 of 21 attempts. They hit five three-point shots, with two from Jackson.
Holbrook 11 20 23 25 79
Chinle 15 15 22 8 60
With the win the Roadrunners wrap up the regular season with an overall mark of 27-3. They head into the sectional tournament as the number one seed and will face eighth seeded Tuba City in the first round at Chinle at 7:30 tonight (Feb. 8). With a win they would meet up with either No. 4 Valley or No. 5 Alchesay at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday’s championship game will also be played at 7:30 p.m.
Holbrook headed into this week as the top overall seed for the state tournament, but with sectional tournament games counting toward overall power rankings this year, the Roadrunners will most likely need to win the section tournament to maintain their grasp on that top seed. The state tournament begins next week.
