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Phantom boys have shot at 1A state championship

The Phantom varsity boys pulled off a "three-peat"last weekend, qualifying for the 1A state basketball championships for an unprecedented third year in a row, with a convincing win over Rock Point, 64-40, in Window Rock regionals Friday evening.

Leading 20-14 at halftime, the Phantoms went on a 25-5 run in the third quarter, building a 48-22 lead to open the fourth quarter.

Emanuel Webb carried the Phantoms in the first half, scoring 17 of his game-high 23 points. In the second half the Canyon took advantage of low post mismatches and pounded the ball inside to Bille Booth and Lydell Talas, who combined for 31 second-half points.

Booth finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, Talas with 17 second-half points and 10 rebounds.

In the 1A-North semi-final basketball regionals, the top ranked Mogollon Mustangs outlasted a gritty Grand Canyon boys basketball team to a 43-37 finish, advancing to the 1A north championship game in Window Rock.

Trailing 16-15 after the first quarter, neither Grand Canyon nor Mogollon could take advantage of a low scoring second quarter in which both teams combined for a total of 10 points.

Head coach Dan Lopez said that the second quarter lull for his team was the key to the loss.

"We defended very well in the second quarter and should have gone into half-time with a 6 to 8 point lead but turnovers and missed layups proved costly," he said.

The number one ranked Mustangs closed the third quarter leading 37-27. In the fourth, the Canyon battled back to close the lead to 3 points with 48 seconds to go, but turnovers and missed open shots proved to be their downfall.

Talas had his third consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Webb led Phantom scorers with 14 points.

After a two-hour rest a short-handed Phantom team played the Joe City Wildcats to determine the third and fourth seed into next week's state tournament. The tired Phantoms battled, clawed and fought a rested Joe City team to the end, losing 35-33, closing out the 1A regional tournament in Window Rock.

Talas had 9 points and 12 rebounds, while Booth had 7 points and 9 rebounds. Webb, the leading scorer, finished with 9 points after sitting out most of the second half due to a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"Our team really showed a lot of heart," Lopez said. "We played a very physical Mogollon team at 1:30 p.m. then had to come right back and play another very physical game two hours later."

Of Webb's foul trouble, he said, "Emanuel plays with his emotion on his sleeve and just got caught up in the heat of battle. Both of us go back together from his seventh grade year so he knows how important he is to the team, but he also knows that I have boundaries. He is a great kid!"

The Canyon had a chance to win the game with 10 seconds to play but Webb's 3-point attempt fell short and Talas missed a 2-point shot that would have tied the game.

The Canyon plays Arizona Lutheran today at a site and time TBA.


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