Road to NABI tourney: Rezbombers overcomes 6-point deficit, defeats Young Gunz in double OT

FORT DEFIANCE

The rivalry between the Rezbombers and Young Gunz is starting to heat up.

The two squads met in the championship game of the 2025 Road to NABI High School Basketball Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Bee Hółdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center with the Rezbombers earning a hard fought 90-89 double overtime win.

Earlier this year, the Phoenix-based Young Gunz team beat the Rezbombers by two points during a national tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. Last month, the Rezbombers returned the favor with a four-point win during the Southwest Salsa Slam Invitational in Albuquerque.

“They’re an extremely talented team and I’m not gonna take anything away from them,” Rezbombers coach Brian Kaye said of the Young Gunz squad. “They work hard, and I feel like they’re one of the heavily favorite teams in the West Coast.”

After trailing for much of the game, the Kaye-coached team got the game winner from Terranzce Parkerson (Neshoba Central) as he completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 17.3 second left to lift the Rezbombers.

That game-winning play was set up by tourney MVP player Xavier Nez (Navajo Prep), as he broke down the defense and found Parkerson cutting to the basket.

“I saw a little window when the defender was looking away and so I thought I’d give TJ the ball because I knew that he could finish,” Nez said. “I knew he was capable and so, yeah, he finished the job.”

According to Kaye, the Young Gunz have won several tournaments this year in places like Las Vegas, Denver and Maricopa, Arizona.

“They went 4-0 in a big California tournament,” Kaye said, “And for us to get back-to-back wins over them is a big step in the right direction.”

The latest win, however, almost didn’t materialized as the Rezbombers trailed 81-75 following a free throw by Stephan Ironshell (Premier Prep) with 58 seconds remaining in regulation.

A basket by Rezbomber guard Trae Kaye (Saguaro) cut that margin to four points and following a missed one-and-one opportunity by Young Gunz, the Kaye-coached team pulled within 81-79 with 34 second left on a basket by Nez.

On the ensuing in-bounds, Rezbomber Tae’Shawn Shamake (Neshoba Central) stole the ball and he put up an inside basket that tied the contest at 81-all with 24 seconds left.

The Young Gunz put up two shots in the closing second of the game with no avail as the contest went into its first overtime.

“We just had to keep fighting,” Trae Kaye said. “It’s one of those games where anything can happen, and I think we kind of surprised them by making some big shots.

“We came through,” he added. “My dad kept us motivated. You know, telling us to keep pushing.”

In the first two-minute OT, the Rezbombers took its first lead of the game at 83-81 following a pair of free throws from Nez, who finished with a team-high 27 points.

At the other end, Israel Loring (Mesa) tied the contest with an inside shot. The two teams then exchanged baskets with the Young Gunz knotting the game at 87-all with a two-point shot from Ironshell with four seconds left.

The Young Gunz gained the early advantage in the second OT following a bucket by Loring with just over a minute showing on the clock.

That two-point lead, however, was short-lived with the Rezbombers taking a 90-89 lead following Parkerson’s three-point play with 17.3 seconds.

In those final seconds, the Rezbombers did not give up an inch on the defensive end as Young Gunz failed to put up a shot.

“It was more just keeping them in front of us,” Nez said. “We knew that they were going to take a crazy shot because they can hit crazy shots. It was more of not giving them any easy buckets and making them make the worst possible shot.”

Trae Kaye concurred as he played a big hand in the game’s final sequence by deflecting a pass by Ironshell, which was intended for a Young Gunz player cutting down the middle of the lane.

“He was running down the baseline and I just tipped it,” Trae said. “It was game from there.”

Trae, who finished with 22 points, applauded the Young Gunz squad for giving them a game.

“I grew up playing them,” he said. “I don’t really look at it as a rivalry with them. We just like competing against each other and it’s always a good game when we see each other on the court.”

The Rezbombers also received contributions from Shamake as he finished with 15 points. Parkerson added 11 and Nashoba Redhouse (Saguaro) chipped in nine.

For Young Gunz, Jarren Galarza (Mesa) finished with a team-best 27 points while Ironshell added 18 and Koi Sharpe (Mesa) helped with 17. Winslow High graduate Isaac David tallied 13 for Young Gunz.

 

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