HS basketball: Chargers advance, keep 'the dream' alive

Instead, Dean had seven simple words for his squad: “The dream is still alive for tonight.”

Senior captain Jorge Carrasco scored a game-high 25 points, and was instrumental in a 25-point fourth quarter for the Chargers as they pulled away to beat the Colts 64-49 for their 23rd straight win.

The victory earns Cholla a trip to the Division II state quarterfinals for the first time in Dean’s four-year tenure.

Cholla (25-1) takes on 10th-seeded Phoenix Arcadia at Scottsdale Chapparal on Thursday at 7:45 p.m., hoping to pull within one win of reaching the state finals for the first time since 1992, when it captured the Class 4A state crown.

“It’s the first time we’ve been to the Elite Eight since I’ve been the coach but hopefully that’s not it,” Dean said. “The first part of the season is over; we ended it with the sectional tournament, and now we’re in the second tournament, and we’re still dreaming.

“We’re still dreaming until we lose, or hopefully we’ll be cutting down the nets out in Glendale.”

The Chargers aren’t the only Southern Arizona team still dreaming: No. 3 Cienega, No. 9 Sunnyside and No. 11 Nogales also won Saturday night to advance to the quarterfinals.

Click here to read more about Sunnyside's rally and Cienega's win in overtime.

“It means a lot to get this win, especially over here at Cholla in front of our fans, family, friends and for this community and all of Southern Arizona,” said senior Lual Magot, who scored 12 points and hit 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter. “Being one of those teams in Tucson, from the south side, making it all the way over there is very special.”

Cholla never trailed in the game and fought off a late push by the Colts, who stayed close through the third quarter with the help of a team-high 19 points from Luke Reynolds, who had a stretch of scoring 10 straight points for Buena.

A double technical foul was called with less than two minutes remaining and the Chargers leading 51-43. Magot took sank both free throws, while Buena’s Rod Springer made one of his. That seemed to be the pivotal point in the game as Cholla began to pull away.

Buena coach Dave Glasgow was puzzled by how his team wasn’t in the bonus late in the fourth quarter. Cholla shot 28 free throws in the period, while the Colts had just seven, five of which came from Springer, who scored 18 points.

“I just think my guys deserved to be in the one-and-one in the fourth quarter,” Glasgow said. “I’m a little upset about that. All the credit to Cholla, they’re a great team and 25-1 for a reason. I’m hoping they go to the Final Four.”

Dean was satisfied with how his team limited Springer to just five points through the first three quarters.

The Chargers keyed on him after the senior scored a game-high 22 points in Buena’s double-overtime win against Tucson High in the first round.

“We played good as a team; this was a team win,” Carrasco said. “Hopefully, like Dean said, we’ll be cutting down the nets.”