San Tan Charter got 3 key free throws in the final minute from senior Logan Johnstad as the Roadrunners erased a 47-39 second half deficit to defeat Canyon High School in overtime on Saturday, advancing to the Border League semifinals. They will face Rosemary Anderson Prep (OR) today at 2:00 PM at the Las Vegas Basketball Center.

A close game early, the Comanches appeared to seize control late in the first half, extending their lead to 28-20 before a closing run by the Roadrunners cut the halftime deficit to 28-25. The teams continued to battle throughout the second half before Canyon extended their lead with a transition layup to 47-39 with 6:06 remaining in the game. The Roadrunners immediately responded with two free throws from sophomore Will Gordon as the team began to slowly chip away at the deficit. The following offensive position, Johnstad showed his low-post presence with a jump-hook in the lane to quickly cut the deficit to four. Following another defensive stop, Johnstad grabbed a key offensive rebound off a missed three by Gordon and the Roadrunners took advantage with Gordon hitting a deep two from the right wing to cut the lead down to 47-45.

Defensive stops became the key late in the game as the Roadrunners held Canyon to just four points in the last six minutes of regulation. Following Gordon's shot, San Tan got another stop on the next play after great on-ball defense by freshman Jase Benjamin led to a steal by Johnstad. Benjamin shot up the right side of the floor in transition and junior Zaire Richardson found him in stride for the layup to tie the game at 47 with 3:32 remaining. San Tan came up with another defensive stop on the next possession as a missed three by the Comanches went up for grabs, but it was Gordon diving on the ball, followed by a quick time-out by the Roadrunners that completed the stop to give San Tan the possession. On the next play it was Johnstad again in the post, this time spinning around his left shoulder for the layup on the right block to give San Tan its first lead of the game at 49-47 with just under three minutes remaining.

After trading empty possessions, Canyon tied the game at 49 with 2:04 remaining, ending San Tan's 12-0 run. The teams again traded empty possessions before the Comanches took advantage of a missed San Tan three with a transition layup to retake the lead with 44 seconds remaining. San Tan's poise once again showed on the following possession as freshman Peyton Lubash drove past his defender on the right wing and his high finish off the glass tied the game at 51. Canyon still had an opportunity in the final seconds and held for the final shot, but great team defense by San Tan earned the stop they needed to force overtime.

The two-minute overtime began with a key individual effort by Richardson on the jump ball, out-dueling two Comanches to take control and set up the offensive possession for the Roadrunners. A patient possession by San Tan resulted in a great pass by Benjamin to Gordon for a layup to give San Tan a 53-51 lead. A defensive stop ensued after a missed layup by Canyon gave the Roadrunners control with a two-point lead and the ball with under a minute in overtime. The poise by San Tan was on display again as Canyon trapped and looked for a steal, but the Roadrunners were able to force Canyon into a fouling game. Johnstad stepped up and knocked down both free throws with 16 seconds remaining to extend the lead to four. Canyon responded with a desperation step-back three to cut the lead down to one with 5.6 seconds left. It was Johnstad again stepping to the line, knocking down 1 of 2 with three seconds left and a desperation three at the buzzer was no good as the Roadrunners held on for the 56-54 victory.

San Tan advances to the Border League semifinals today at 2:00 PM vs Rosemary Anderson Prep (Oregon). The Prospects defeated AOSS Prep 52-30 in their first game Friday night, followed by a 57-44 win over Amador Valley High School Saturday morning. All games are being streamed on BallerTV, or you can follow stcs_hoops on Instagram for alternate streaming options.

The full Border League schedule can be seen here: https://basketball.exposureevents.com/211483/border-league/schedule