One night after knocking off the Gilbert Classic Spartans in the 2A Valley Region tournament, the Braves dropped a semifinal game to Class 2A’s top team, San Tan Charter, at home.

“The region tournament gives everyone a chance to redeem yourself if you didn’t have a good regular season, but you have to play well and we didn’t play well,” said San Carlos head coach Terry Antonio. “(San Tan Charter) brought it tonight, they were quicker than us and now we know what playoff basketball is like.”

Kylen Bonner opened the game with a personal 11-5 run that included a three-pointer, a steal and basket and back-to-back treys. During that run, San Carlos’ Jarek Lechuga and John Mull scored. A steal by Jarred Johnstad led to a William  Gordon III triple for a commanding 14-5 lead. Gordon III added another layup for a double-digit lead.

The Roadrunners ripped off an 11-0 run before Chance Nosie stopped the Braves’ woes with a three-pointer with 1:46 left in the opening quarter.

San Tan Charter quickly scored five points off a Tamyron Cloud jumper and a Logan Johnstad three-pointer. Keyon Martin scored inside for the Braves, but San Tan’s Beau Burns scored and  was fouled with one second left in the first. His three-point play gave the Roadrunners a commanding 35-10 lead after the first quarter.

From there, San Tan cruised to victory before eventually capturing the region title.

As of press time, San Carlos is ranked 19th in Class 2A and has a chance to earn a bid to the Class 2A state play-in round. Most likely the Braves will be on the road but a familiar opponent could be waiting.

“We could go to Mohave Accelerated, to close like Morenci or in the Valley,” said Antonio. “We played Morenci when some of their guys were playing football, so they would look different from when we played them and everyone else has most likely improved. We just have to go out and compete because it’s all about competing now.”