Steve Carter Photo/Special to the Gila Herald: Channing Wilson (44) gets fouled on the drive. The Fort fell short Saturday, 51-66 to the St. David Tigers in the 1A State Boys Basketball Quarterfinals.
By Jon Johnson
ST. DAVID – The Fort Thomas Apaches boys basketball team fell short to the St. David Tigers in the 1A Boys Basketball State Championship Quarterfinals on Saturday, 51-66.
The No. 7 Apaches (8-2 1A Copper, 20-10 overall) ran into the No. 2 St. David Tigers (5-0 1A Tucson Southeast, 26-4 overall), who have an astounding 10 seniors listed on their roster.
That experienced served the Tigers well against the Apaches, helping them leap to double up The Fort after one period of play 21-10, and made sure they never recovered.
St. David will now face the No. 3 Baboquivari Warriors in the semifinals at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley
Baboquivari defeated St. David in the 1A Super Regional Tucson SW/SE Boys Basketball Tournament 51-43 on Feb. 4, and St. David previously defeated Baboquivari at their house 51-49 on Jan. 19.
St. David 66 – Fort Thomas 51
Things started out well for the Apaches as Jashawn Rambler opened up the game’s scoring with a 3-pointer.
The Fort played the second half even with the Tigers, but after Rambler’s initial score St. David went on a 16-4 run for the rest of the first period and Fort Thomas could not recover.
It was death from above as the Tigers rained 3’s in the opening stanza. Brayten Trejo (11 points) and Matteo Carrafa (20 points) both hit two opening-period 3’s and Wyatt Judd added a fifth. For the game, St. David hit 11 3-pointers.
Rambler hit three of his own 3’s to end with 13 points, but the Apaches were led by Carmelo Robertson, who hit 9 of his team-high 14 points in the fourth period during a comeback attempt.
Other scorers for Fort Thomas included Michael Stanley with 6, Channing Wilson and Damare Dosela with 5 each, Tyler Black with 4, Justin Olivar with 2, and Kyle Secody and Levi Dillon with 1 point apiece.
St. David was led by Koy Richardson who scored in every period for a game-high 21. Koy did the most damage in the pivotal third period when he went for 13 as St. David outpaced The Fort 21-10 in the third to seal the deal. Other scorers for St. David included Kydin Richardson with 8, and Ryan Gooding and Wyatt Judd with 3 points each.
Congratulations to the St. David Tigers on the victory and congratulations to the Fort Thomas Apaches on their season.
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