Brophy’s boys basketball team came back from a double-digit deficit to beat the Desert Vista Thunder, 46-36, at home in the first round of the 6A state playoffs on Thursday.

The Broncos (13-12, 4-4) will next face No. 1 Pinnacle (24-3, 10-0) at Pinnacle at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Desert Vista opened Thursday's game on a 12-2 run as the Thunder’s 1-3-1 zone stifled Brophy.

Early foul trouble stunted some of Desert Vista’s early momentum.

“Our secondary ball handler (Isiah “Sterling” Wilson) got in significant foul trouble early,” head coach Gino Crump said. “He got three fouls in the first quarter and we had to sit him. That was huge for us.”

Crump’s team struggled on offense early on without primary ball handler Marcus Wady, who was out due to injury.

With Wilson on the bench, Brophy got back into the game. The Broncos closed the first half on a 14-6 run, heading into halftime down 18-16.

After, fighting to get back into the game the Broncos again allowed the Thunder to strike first in the second half.

Wilson helped the Thunder run more efficient offense and opened the second half on an 8-2 run. The run started with a three from the corner by junior guard Jackson Risi and was capped by a driving layup by Wilson.

Brophy started to use a 2-2-1 press toward the end of the third quarter to try to speed up Desert Vista and get back into the game. The initial plan did not work. The Thunder continuously broke the press and generated efficient looks.

Heading into the fourth quarter, down 31-25, the Broncos knew they had to go on one more run to give themselves a chance to win the game. Head coach Matt Hooten chose to go back to the 2-2-1 press despite, the lack of success his team had pressing the Thunder in the third quarter.

“We just felt like we had to do something to push the tempo,” Hooten said. “We talked about some of the rotations that we missed in the third quarter and we felt like we could iron those out.”

Hooten’s gamble worked as the Broncos went on a 7-0 run to start the fourth and grab their first lead of the game. The press sped Desert Vista up and forced them to make quick decisions. Brophy got steals and deflections which got the Broncos out in transition.

Brophy held Desert Vista to five points in the fourth quarter.

The leaders of the comeback were junior center Basil Ribakare and junior forward Arnold Dates. Ribakare finished with 11 points including seven in the fourth.

“I just didn’t want to lose,” Ribakare said. “I just didn’t want to let my teammates down. I didn’t want tonight to be our last night. I just gave it everything I got and played hard like coach taught me.”

Dates finished with eight points and junior guard Joe Feeney had 11 as the only other Bronco in double figures.

Wilson led the the Thunder in with 13 points.

The Broncos will face a tall task on Tuesday when they meet No. 1 Pinnacle, which beat No. 16 Mountain View 73-55.

Pinnacle features senior point guard Nico Mannion, who is ranked eighth in ESPN's recruiting rankings and is committed to the University of Arizona this fall. Mannion is averaging over 29 points per game.