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The Round Valley Elks boys basketball team seemed to get better every time they took the floor. That improvement showed itself last Tuesday when they beat the Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets at the Round Valley Dome, 55-38. Blue Ridge had previously been undefeated in the region with an 8-0 record.
The victory over Blue Ridge pulled the Elks to within a game of the Jackets with a 7-2 record and a game to play. That game was last Friday and it was against the Snowflake Lobos. The Elks won the game, and coupled with the Yellow Jackets’ loss to Payson the night before, Round Valley pulled to a tie with Blue Ridge at the end of the regular season – both teams at 8-2. They split their two region games this season. They have been crowned co-champions of the 3A East.
Round Valley was able to grab the region title by virtue of finishing higher in the Power Rankings. The Elks edged Blue Ridge to land at the No. 6 spot while Blue Ridge finished No. 7. The Elks are the No. 1 seed in the 3A East region tournament and will play either Alchesay or Payson Thursday night in the tournament semifinals at Payson High School. Blue Ridge faces the winner of first round foes Snowflake and Show Low. The first round will be played at the home of the higher seed (Snowflake, Alchesay) on Tuesday night.
The Alchesay Falcons are No. 18 in the state Power Rankings. Snowflake is No. 21, Show Low is No. 23 and the Payson Longhorns are No. 27. The top three teams from each region are guaranteed state playoff berths, and the final four spots in the tournament are selected from the highest finishing teams in the Power Rankings that did not earn an automatic spot. It does not look good for the fourth place team from the East.
In the 3A girls Power Rankings, Snowflake and Alchesay finished No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, while Round Valley is No. 11, Blue Ridge No. 20, Payson is No. 23 and Show Low is No. 26.
The Snowflake Lady Lobos and the Alchesay Falcons get the first round byes in the 3A East region tournament, finishing 1 and 2. Round Valley finished third and will host the sixth place Show Low Cougars on Tuesday. The fourth place Blue Ridge Lady Yellow Jackets are at home Tuesday against the fifth place Payson Longhorns.
Follow the 3A playoffs here at SportsZone123.com and live on the radio with the Power 95.7 Game of the Week, live in Northeast Arizona at 95.7 FM.
2009 3A Boys Basketball Power Rankings
|
Rank
|
School
|
W-L
|
Power Points
|
|
1
|
Estrella Foothills
|
17-0 / 25-1
|
103.5714
|
|
2
|
Safford
|
15-1 / 22-4
|
103.2143
|
|
3
|
Chinle
|
18-0 / 26-2
|
101.7857
|
|
4
|
Florence
|
15-2 / 23-8
|
93.2143
|
|
4
|
Winslow
|
15-3 / 24-7
|
93.2143
|
|
6
|
Round Valley
|
13-4 / 23-6
|
91.4286
|
|
7
|
Blue Ridge
|
12-3 / 22-4
|
88.5714
|
|
8
|
Sedona Red Rock
|
11-4 / 17-8
|
87.9286
|
|
9
|
Holbrook
|
12-5 / 21-6
|
87.1429
|
|
10
|
Coolidge
|
11-6 / 13-11
|
81.0714
|
|
11
|
Fountain Hills
|
10-8 / 17-12
|
79.6429
|
|
12
|
Santa Cruz
|
10-7 / 12-10
|
78.5714
|
|
12
|
Window Rock
|
8-8 / 10-13
|
78.5714
|
|
14
|
Parker
|
10-8 / 14-15
|
70.1071
|
|
15
|
Empire
|
8-10 / 10-15
|
69.6429
|
|
16
|
Globe
|
6-12 / 7-20
|
67.1429
|
|
17
|
Tuba City
|
7-11 / 9-15
|
65.3571
|
|
18
|
Alchesay
|
8-8 / 16-12
|
65.0000
|
|
18
|
Monument Valley
|
7-9 / 10-11
|
65.0000
|
|
20
|
Chino Valley
|
5-11 / 8-17
|
64.3571
|
|
21
|
Snowflake
|
6-10 / 14-12
|
62.8571
|
|
22
|
River Valley
|
7-9 / 11-16
|
61.5714
|
|
23
|
Show Low
|
5-13 / 12-18
|
60.7143
|
|
24
|
South Pointe
|
4-11 / 4-17
|
59.2857
|
|
25
|
Wickenburg
|
4-13 / 5-17
|
56.5000
|
|
26
|
San Tan Foothills
|
4-12 / 5-18
|
55.3571
|
|
27
|
Ganado
|
4-12 / 4-17
|
53.5714
|
|
27
|
Payson
|
5-13 / 11-16
|
53.5714
|
|
