Basketball is certainly a team sport and the Snowflake Lobos used that concept better than anyone else to claim their first state basketball championship since 1993.
Snowflake overcame second half deficits in each of the final three rounds of the state tournament played at Gila River Arena. The Lobos outscored their opponents in just the second half by a combined 35 total points in the three wins.
The seventh seeded Lobos started their run last Thursday, dodging a bullet in the final seconds against No. 2 Cortez, who missed two last second layups, which could have ended the season for the Lobos. Fortunately, Snowflake prevailed 68-65.
Travis Flake led the offense, scoring 25 points. Tanner Crosby added 13; Kurt Wood, 9, with 12 assists; Jordan Gardner, 8; Kegan Bjornn, 7; and Caedon Ervien and Gunner Caldwell, 3 each.
Thursday’s win put the Lobos in the final four, where they met up with Palo Verde Magnet, the overall No. 6 seed.
Snowflake trailed by one at the half, then used a huge third period to get control of the game and advance to the title game with a 60-52 win.
Gardner led the Lobos with 17 points. Flake added 15 with nine boards; Wood, 12 with 13 assists; Crosby, 8; Caldwell, 4; and Ervien and Bjornn each had 2.
Saturday’s championship game was a struggle in the first half. Snowflake couldn’t seem to buy a bucket early and trailed 28-19 at the half against fourth seeded Combs, which survived a two-point scare against Thatcher in the other semifinal on Friday. Like they had done on the previous two days, Snowflake rallied behind a team effort and when their scrambling half-court trap turned the momentum in the second half, the Lobos found the scoring touch and won the title 57-52 over Combs. The Lobos took their first lead of the game with 3:20 left in the fourth period, then held on for the win.
Crosby may have made the final free throws, but when six players’ scores range from 8 to 12 points, you know it took a team effort to get the title. Flake finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Gardner also scored 12 and pulled down 11 boards. Bjornn added 9 points with nine boards. Wood netted eight points and handed out 10 assists. Caldwell and Crosby also scored 8 points each in the win.
The Lobos wrapped up their state championship season with a very impressive overall mark of 29-3.
