Holbrook earned a first round bye in the 3A state tournament thanks to their fifth overall seed in the bracket. With the first round bye they hosted 12th seeded Florence who had advanced to round two with a 65-64 win over ALA West Foothills on Thursday night.
Florence came into a packed Munoz Gym with more height, but Holbrook had more speed and the ever present three-point threat from multiple players. The Roadrunners made three of those treys in the first period, opening up a 19-11 lead. Noah Brown led the way with six in the frame, Quentin Thomas and Brandon Tapaha each netted five. In the second, Kyle Smith nailed two long treys, and Brown added five to his total helping Holbrook hold a 39-27 halftime cushion.
Both teams scored 15 in the third with Tyler Tapaha counting for seven of Holbrook’s total. In the fourth Florence’s Brandon Turley heated up nailing three long-range shots inside two minutes, which cut Holbrook’s lead to 61-58 with just over a minute remaining. From that point, Florence had to put Holbrook on the free throw line where Brown made six in a row to seal the 70-63 win and send Holbrook to Prescott on Tuesday for a match up with fourth seeded Yuma Catholic at 2:30 p.m. at Findlay Toyota Center.
Brown led Holbrook with 25 points. Brandon Tapaha added 15; Smith, 9; Tyler Tapaha, 9; Thomas, 8; Izzy Ramos, 2; and Sam Francisco scored two.
Yuma Catholic defeated Northwest Christian 59-31 in their second round match up.
With a win, Holbrook would more than likely face top-ranked Valley Christian in the semifinal round played at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Friday. The Trojans first have to get past No. 9 Gilbert Christian on Tuesday but are heavy favorites to do so.
