PRESCOTT — Battling sickness for a week, the Prescott boys basketball team needed a gutsy effort from someone wearing Badger white and blue if they were going to advance.

Gutsy is exactly what they got.

Trailing 38-30 heading into the fourth quarter against No. 13-seeded Salpointe Catholic, sophomore standout Uriah Tenette caught fire, scoring 15 of his 23 points in the final 8 minutes, including a perfect 5 for 5 from the charity stripe in a 61-54 victory Wednesday night.

They now advance to the second round of the 4A state playoffs to play No. 5-seeded Mesquite.

The No. 4-seeded Badgers (21-3, 11-1 4A Grand Canyon) hadn’t practiced in three days, according to head coach Travis Stedman on Thursday night.

And it showed. But Prescott wasn’t about to lie down. Not after the season they’ve had.

Zane Gaul, the other super sophomore on Prescott’s roster, had a big four quarter as well, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the final period for the Badgers, which used a 33-14 run to seal the deal.

“I’m incredibly proud of our team and their resolve,” Stedman said. “We just never quit.”

The hometown club was 18 of 23 from the free-throw line overall. Jake Hilton added 15 points in the win.

Canyon Torres led Salpointe Catholic (15-13, 5-3 4A Kino) with 13 points, most of which came in the first half.

Prescott will host Mesquite on Feb. 22. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.