By Chris Roth 

Going into its Elite Eight matchup, No. 22 Pinnacle was riding high after pulling off two huge road upsets and hoped to continue its magical run against No. 3 seed Basha, a veteran team that cruised through its first two rounds in pursuit of its first Division I state title.

After a first half that featured a defensive struggle, with both teams combining to score just 33 points, Basha outscored Pinnacle 26-10 in the fourth quarter on its way to a 55-35 victory in the state quarterfinal round at Wells Fargo Arena.

The lethal combination of 6-11 center Devin Kirby, who had 10 points, and the highlight dunks of forward Antwan Ross-Jones, who finished with 19 points, were too much for Pinnacle's young team to overcome Wednesday. 

Basha coach Mike Grothaus, whose team is one victory away from tying the school's single season school win record of 24, said after the game ,“They battled us early, but we were fortunate to pull away.”  

Pinnacle finished the season 12-16 and was led by freshman guard Spencer Rattler (eight points) and senior center AJ Elliott, who tallied seven points.

“We had a great run, and I am looking forward to seeing our young team grow.” Pinnacle coach Charles Wilde said.

Basha moves on to play Mesa at 6:15 p.m. on Friday at Grand Canyon University.

Chris Roth is a sports journalism student at Arizona State University.