Holbrook defeated visiting Payson 45-27 on Friday night in the pool play round of the 3A state tournament.
The Roadrunners entered the game as the 13th-seeded pool team and quickly took care of the 22nd-seeded Longhorns.
Holbrook’s defense held a much taller Longhorn team to just 2 points in the opening eight minutes of the game. Tyler Tapaha netted 5, and Jaron Becenti added 4, giving Holbrook a 13-2 advantage.
Payson scored better in the second period, and Holbrook got 5 points from Chase Salabye, but the Birds still held a 25-15 lead at the half.
The Roadrunners put the game out of reach in the third where they outscored Payson 15-4. Tapaha added 7 to his total and Caleb Cummings hit his second trey of the night. Holbrook was never threatened in the fourth of what ended with the 18-point win.
Tapaha led all scorers with 16 points. Becenti added 10; Salabye, 7; Cummings, 6; Manny Rico, 4; and Leyton Tom helped with 2. Holbrook made three of seven charity tosses and connected on four shots from distance.
Payson was led by Aldon Parsons with 9 points. The Longhorns hit three of six free throws and made just two 3-point field goals.
With the win, Holbrook advanced into the 3A state bracket as the No.10 seed. They traveled to Coolidge on Tuesday night to take on the seventh-seeded Bears. Coolidge lost to Valley Christian in the first round of the Copper tournament on Wednesday night. They then returned to the 3A bracket as the 7th overall seed.
If Holbrook can get past the Bears, they will face second-ranked Florence on the Gophers home floor at 6 p.m. on Saturday night.
