San Tan Charter pulls away from Pima, stays perfect in 2A
February 6, 2025 by Ben Stapley, AZPreps365
San Tan seniors Kylen Bonner and Jachin Reynolds combined for 35 points Thursday night and the Roadrunners played its best defense in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 68-54 win over visiting Pima in a battle of 2A East Sky Region unbeatens.
Bonner scored 12 of his 16 points in the third quarter as he drained four 3-pointers, helping San Tan Charter build a 10-point lead (56-46) after three quarters.
The win secures the region title for the Roadrunners (16-9, 8-0), who entered the game at No. 6 in the Copper power point rankings, which is the equivalent of the Open Division for conferences 1A-3A. Pima (25-4, 7-1) came in ranked 10th in the Copper Division rankings.
San Tan Charter finishes the 3rd quarter strong with a steal by Reynolds (22) and @bonner_kylen hitting his 2nd straight 3-pointer. San Tan leads Pima 56-46 after 3 quarters. pic.twitter.com/L8x7JS9zUT
— Ben Stapley (@AZPreps365Ben) February 7, 2025
"It took a while but we had to find a rhythm tonight before we were able to separate," said San Tan Charter coach Kyli Crooms.
"We finally found more consistency in the second half, and our defense made big stops down the stretch."
The game was tightly contested through the middle of the third quarter. Pima held a 44-43 lead before San Tan Charter, but that's when the Roadrunners finished the quarter with a 13-2 run, which included three of Bonner's five total 3-pointers for the game. Pima never got closer than seven the rest of the way, as San Tan held the Roughriders to eight points in the fourth quarter.
Who wants the ball? Pima finally ends up with it after this turnover exchange and Preston Russell gets the hoop and the free throw to tie the game at 12 midway thru the 1st quarter pic.twitter.com/M3gdP3CDTw
— Ben Stapley (@AZPreps365Ben) February 7, 2025
The game was tied at 18 after the first quarter and San Tan Charter took a 36-32 lead to halftime.
But Pima's Preston Russsell scored six points early in the third quarter, while Pima's Rhett Hughes connected for two 3-pointers. The Roughriders held a one point lead before San Tan Charter's 13-2 run. 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter from Kristo Jackson and Jase Benjamin sealed the game for the Roadrunners.
This might the final dagger for Pima as San Tan Charter’s Jase Benjamin drains the 3-pointer for an 11-point lead with 2:15 left to play @STCSathletics pic.twitter.com/uHtv9nUJFb
— Ben Stapley (@AZPreps365Ben) February 7, 2025
"We just finally came together as a team in the third quarter," Benjamin said of San Tan's strong second half. "We started shooting better and our defense started making stops at the same time. We know every team we play is going to give us our best shot, so we need to start the game better."
Reynolds added 10 points and eight rebounds for San Tan Charter.
Russell led Pima with 14 points while Charlie Richardson added 11.
