Coconino Advances To The 4A Final Four For The First Time Since 1998

The fourth-seeded Coconino Panthers advanced to the 4A state boys basketball semifinals Friday night with 45-34 win over the 12th-seeded Mesquite Wildcats in the quarterfinals. Coconino got off to a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats narrowed the lead to two at the end of three. The Panthers outscored Mesquite 18-9 in the final quarter to get the win and advance to the semifinals for the first time in 23 years. Preston Olney led the Panthers with 16 points and Hayden Nez chipped in with 11. CohenJ Gonzalez led the Wildcats with 16 points. Coconino will now take on top-ranked and top-seeded St. Mary’s in Phoenix Thursday night. We will have the game on KAFF Country 93.5/AM 930 starting at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show. The 4A state championship game is Saturday afternoon in Phoenix.