The Holbrook Roadrunners’ busy week on the hardwood continued last Wednesday with a home tilt against Page. The Roadrunners had already dropped games at Blue Ridge on Monday and at home against Winslow on Tuesday. Wednesday’s game marked the third straight loss, 44-39 to the Sand Devils.
Holbrook led by one at the close of the first and battled to a 19-19 tie at the half. Offensive woes in the third netted just five points and left the Birds battling an uphill climb in the fourth. They couldn’t quite get to the top in the final eight minutes and came up five points short.
Tynen Thomas led the way with 13 points. Hayden Kinlichee and Elliot Pete each added 8; Damian Begay and J.E. Cummings, 4 each; and Lane Goldtooth, 2.
Holbrook made just two three-point shots and went 11 for 19 at the line.
Thursday night was the Roadrunners’ final regular season home game and with it came their first win of the week, a 71-65 victory over Monument Valley.
A quick start gave the Roadrunners a 19-7 first period lead. Pete netted 20 first half points pacing Holbrook to a 38-27 halftime edge.
Pete continued his scoring in the third and Holbrook led by eight after three. In the final minutes Monument Valley trimmed the margin to two points before the Birds closed the deal at the free throw line, making eight charity tosses in the final eight minutes.
Pete led all players in scoring with a 35-point effort. Kinlichee added 16; Thomas, 7; Begay, 5; and Korey McReeves and Goldtooth, 4 each.
Holbrook made six treys and went 15 for 29 at the line.
Friday marked the Roadrunners’ fifth game in as many days and their final tilt of the regular season. Playing in Payson, they built a five-point margin after the first, paced by three long range bombs from Kinlichee. The solid beginning led to a three-point halftime cushion.
In the third Holbrook pushed that lead to seven and closed the deal in the final stanza with a strong defensive effort, holding the Longhorns to just seven points in the 54-39 win.
Kinlichee led Holbrook’s offense with 18 points. Pete added 15; Thomas, 10; McReeves, 7; and Begay, 4.
Holbrook made eight three-point shots and went 6 for 8 at the line.
The Roadrunners closed the regular season with an overall record of 10-14. They finished in fourth place in the East region and were slated to play host to fifth seeded Snowflake on Tuesday night in the opening round of the East Region tournament. With a win on Tuesday, they would advance to Lakeside on Thursday, Feb. 9, to face the top ranked Blue Ridge Yellowjackets. An upset over the ‘Jackets there would put Holbrook into the championship game on Friday night at the site of the higher seeded team.
The Birds will be in the state tournament, although their final ranking and the location of their first round game won’t be known until next Sunday. The first round of the state playoffs begin on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Second round games will be played on Saturday, Feb. 18.
