Johnny Padia is an NAU School of Communication student assigned to cover high school basketball for AZPreps365.com

Prescott and Flagstaff took a couple of possessions to get into a rhythm offensively, but once they did, they didn’t let off as the Badgers won 68-60 in overtime in a 4A state play-in game.

Flagstaff senior Tyler Troxler started his action-packed day off with eight of the Eagles’ 19 first-quarter points, all coming from post-work and mid-range efficiency. 

Sophomore Joe Wright also contributed seven points, barely trailing his teammate for the most total points after the first quarter by one. 

On the contrary, Prescott’s sophomore forward Drew Jolley asserted his dominance in the paint in the first quarter, scoring eight of the Badgers' 14 points in an attempt to keep them from falling too far behind. 

The Badgers found themselves down five heading into the second quarter. 

It appeared to be somewhat of a slower scoring quarter as both teams put up less than they did in the first. However, Troxler kept his foot on the gas, tallying six more points out of the Eagles’ 12 total in the second quarter. 

The Badgers saw scoring contributions from five different players in the second quarter, propelling them ahead of Flagstaff’s second-quarter total by one, 13-12. Prescott did what they could, but it just wasn’t enough as they were still down four points heading into halftime, 31-27.

The second half of this game was nothing short of exciting. Prescott came out in the third quarter blazing with five players contributing to the scoring once again, led by sophomore guard Bobby Molnar and his clutch shooting efforts. 

“We love Bobby, man,” Prescott coach Travis Stedman said. “We call him Bobby Buckets; he makes his free throws, you can leave him open, but unfortunately for the other team, it goes in all the time.”

On the other side of the spectrum, Flagstaff came out a little shaky in the third quarter, totaling only nine points as a team, with four coming from Troxler. Though that did not last too long.

Flagstaff got things started again in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Badgers by five points and forcing overtime with a late comeback. 

“Reset,” Stedman said inside his huddle before overtime. “We had a chance to win it three times, and we either turned it over or put ourselves in a bad position. Luckily, we were able to compose ourselves during that huddle, and we scored coming right out of the tip, that helps.” 

The Badgers got the best of Flagstaff in overtime, knocking down clutch free throws and allowing only three points to the Eagles. 

After what seemed like an underdog story in the first half, the Prescott Badgers rallied together for a great second half, ultimately coming out on top 68-60. 

Prescott advances and looks to take a trip down to Arcadia High School on Feb. 25 in the second round of the 4A State Championship.