Don't be surprised if the semifinal between Gilbert and Apollo at the 25th annual McClintock Holiday Shootout doesn't re-appear come February and state tournament time.

The 5A squads brought brought a combined record of 25-1 to Doc Zinke Gymnasium on Friday night and the team that was unscathed is unscathed no more.

Gilbert opened up a double-digit lead after the first quarter and it never dropped below that level to the end in a 60-45 win for the Tigers over the Hawks. 

Gilbert (14-1) advances to the tournament final Saturday facing Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez knocked off Mesa High in the other semifinal, 67-48. Game time for the title game is 7 p.m at McClintock. Apollo ost for the first time and is 15-1. 

Gilbert's triumph was complete in its execution. The Tigers' offense revolved around the trio of seniors Jake Ehmann, Doc Self and junior Brycen Long. Ehmann tallied his 20 points inside. Self connected for 11 of his 15 in the second period on 4 of 4 shooting, including three threes. Long hit a couple threes in the first period and the rest from short range or the line in totaling 15 points.

"Our guys played well," Gilbert coach Jay Caserio said. "We rebounded well. I think we were plus 12 or 14 in the first half. I liked the defense especially how Bryson and Jaqwuan played guarding the big guy (Emmanuel) Taban. We've been in this tournament a lot. It's the first time in awhile we've been able to play on Saturday (final day)."

Taban, a 6-foot-7 senior who plays on the perimeter,  was held scoreless in the first half as Gilbert took a 36-19 lead to intermission. Taban finished with seven points, 11 shy of his season average. He didn't score until almost midway through the third period. Taban exited the game with less than a minute left with an injury to his left leg. No word on the extent.

Caserio was eager to see if his team could handle Apollo's pressure and he felt good about the first hal with only five turnovers. Rebounding and good, quick passes led to several layups (mostly by Ehmann). Self took care of the perimeter game, finishing with four threes and a 12-footer to go with one free throw.

Zeke Thompkins led Apollo with 12 points and Paris Woods had 10. The closest Apollo got in the second half was 12 (39-27) with 4:40 left in the third period.

CESAR CHAVEZ 67, MESA 48: The Champions (12-3) played well enough for a double-digit lead at halftime and didn't give the Jackrabbits (11-5) a chance in the second half rolling to victory in a matchup of 6A schools. The win was the seventh in a row for Gary Lee's squad.

Mesa trailed 30-20 at the half with hope of making a run in the third period. A rash of turnovers  - eight in the period - led to easy points. The defiict grew to 40-22 with about five minutes left in the third. Mesa trailed by as many as 24 in the final period.

Twelve players scored for Cesar Chavez, two hit for double figures. Ricardo Sarmiento hit for 15 and TyTy Washington chipped in with 11. Mesa was led by Julian Jackson with 13 points and Ammon Moritz with 10. Leading scorer Zach Hobbs was stymied and finished with a season-low two points. Hobbs sat out much of the second half after the game got out of hand. Hobbs was 1 of 8 from the field. Mesa faces Apollo on Saturday at 5:30 for third place.