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Four Cooper Town Teams Reach State Tournaments
Four basketball teams from the CopperTownNews.com area reached their respective 2016 AIA State Championship, which will begin later this week.
The Globe boys’ team reached the Division IV State Championship despite a first-round loss against top-seed American Leadership Academy in last week’s Section V tournament.
The No. 19-seed Tigers will face No. 14-seed Pusch Ridge Christian in the first-round of the state tournament on Friday, Feb. 19 at the Prescott Valley Event Center. A win would advance the Tigers to the second round, where they would face No. 3-seed Buckeye Union.
Friday’s tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Both the San Carlos boys’ and girls’ teams reach the Division V State Championships after both suffered disappointing upsets in their respective Section IV Tournaments last weekend.
The No. 1-seed Lady Braves lost in the semifinals to No. 4-seed Ray, 71 – 69. The Braves, also the top-seed in the boys’ tournament, were defeated in the semifinals, losing to No. 4-seed Superior, 59 – 52.
The Lady Braves entered the section tourney ranked third by the AIA while the boys’ team was ranked No. 1. Both Braves’ teams will have to move on quickly and not let the disappointment carry over to the state tournament this week.
The No. 3-seed San Carlos boys’ team earned a first-round bye and will face the winner between No. 19-seed Williams and No. 14 Ft. Thomas in the second round, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 20 in Prescott. Specific game location and tipoff time are to be determined.
The No. 4-seed Lady Braves also earned a first-round bye and will face the winner between No. 20-seed El Capitan and No. 13 Mogollon in the second round, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 20 in Prescott. Specific game location and tipoff time are to be determined.
The No. 2-seed Miami Vandals boys’ team won the Division V Section IV Tournament Championship last weekend, first defeating No. 3-seed Mogollon in the semifinals 62 – 59 before beating No. 4-seed Superior in the championship game, 51 – 41.
The Section IV Champion Vandals will look to ride the momentum off last weekend’s success into the state tournament, where they are the No. 8-seed and have a first-round bye.
Miami will face the winner between No. 24-seed Ash Fork and No. 9 NFL Yet JH & HS in a second round matchup that is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20. Specific game location and tipoff time are to be determined.
Visit www.azpreps365.com for the complete Division V bracket, results, and individual game information.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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