Alchesay’s rally falls short in 2A championship game

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz.

They just needed a little more time.

The Alchesay Falcons fought and clawed their way back from a 21-point halftime deficit only to fall short to Rancho Solano Prep by a 68-62 count in the Arizona 2A boys state championship game last Saturday night.

They played before a capacity crowd at the Prescott Valley Event Center.

Alchesay (34-2) trailed the Scottsdale private school 38-17 at the break but after making some defensive adjustments the Falcons came storming back.

“I really think the first half was our Achilles’ heel tonight,” Alchesay coach Kyle Goklish said. “If we kept it a little closer, the second half would have been a whole different ballgame.”

Even with the bad start, Goklish said there was no resentment coming from the coaching staff and at halftime he told his players they still have the second half to make something happen.

That halftime pep talk seemed to get the Falcons going. They opened the second half on a 13-8 run with senior junior Kellen Parrish scoring seven of those points. His putback cut Rancho Solano Prep’s lead down to 46-30 with 3:42 to go in the third.

Alchesay cut that lead to 48-36 on two free throws by senior Raekwon Cosay going into the fourth. Cosay hit two more from the charity line at the 7:01 mark of the fourth as the Falcons were within 10 points (48-38).

For the next six minutes, the Rancho Solano Prep Mustangs kept the margin at 10 until Alchesay rattled in two consecutive treys. Cosay hit the first one and with 57 seconds left senior San Juan Slick got the Falcons within 63-57 to cap a 12-5 run.

Unfortunately they could not draw any closer as Alchesay came up short for the second consecutive year in the 2A finals.

“We have to take it for what it’s worth,” Goklish said. “We came back and fought hard and it’s a credit to the team. They played with a lot of heart.”

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