The boys basketball team finished off the regular season 18-1, with the only loss coming in a close game against Coolidge, where the Trojans had to compete without leading scorer Luke Shaw due to injury. The boys got the number 1 seed in the rankings and were given a first-round bye. The Thatcher Eagles, the 16 seed, played Chinle, the 17 seed in the first round on Thursday, February 16th. The Eagles won 83-64, and then they headed up to Chandler to play the Trojans two days later on Saturday, February 18th for the second round of the 3A state playoffs. 

The Trojans got out to a fast start against the Eagles and very quickly were leading 18-5 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the boys brought the heat and built their lead to 48-11. The Trojans continued to dominate in the third quarter and were beating the Eagles 74-28 going into the fourth. All of the starters were out in the fourth quarter, giving an opportunity for some of the fan favorite players to hit the court. They held the lead and the Trojans finished off the Eagles, winning 79-36. Big performances came  from junior Luke Shaw, who had 23 points, coming off an injury, as well as junior Grant Woods, who added 18 points in the win. Jake Harrison chipped in 10 and Kyle Grier added 9 to secure the victory. This was a very good team win and was the last game that the boys will play at home this year. 

The next round of playoffs, the quarterfinals, was played on Tuesday night in Prescott at the Findlay Toyota Center at 4 PM. And who would make a better opponent on this quarterfinal stage, than one of our biggest basketball rivals, Gilbert Christian?! Gilbert Christian beat Sabino in the first round and took down Scottsdale Christian in the second round in a narrow overtime victory. 

Both teams started the quarterfinal game playing very good defense, but the Trojan offense started out a little slow and we were trailing 3-11 after the first quarter. Thankfully the boys started to find their rhythm and were leading 26-23 going into the half. The Trojans continued with this momentum and built their lead to 46-35 after the third quarter. The boys continued to outplay Gilbert Christian in the 4^th quarter and ultimately took down the Knights 63-43 to advance to the semifinals. Junior Luke Shaw led the Trojans, as usual, with 27 points. Austin Wallace also had a good game, adding 14 points in the win.

The boys now advance to the 3A semi-finals where they will face the #3 ranked Yuma Catholic Shamrocks. The other two teams that remain on the bottom of the bracket are #7 ALA – Ironwood and #6 Monument Valley. 
Come out and cheer on your Trojans as they go for a back-to-back State Championship! 

State Bracket Information:
https://azpreps365.com/brackets/basketball-boys/3a/1201-2023-aia-boys-basketball-3a-state-championship

Ticket Link:
https://gofan.co/app/events/902016

Location:
Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum (VMC)
1826 W. McDowell Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85007