Salpointe's players rush the court after the buzzer in their 56-50 win against Catalina Foothills in their state 4A semifinal at Salpiointe High School, February 25, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

The Kalil Family Gymnasium on Salpointe Catholic High School's campus holds roughly 1,400 spectators. Just over an hour before tipoff of the Class 4A semifinal showdown between the Lancers and Catalina Foothills on Tuesday night, it was standing room only. 

Eventually, security at the front door was forced to turns people away. When both teams first took the floor for pregame shootaround at 5:30 p.m. for a game that tipped off at 7 p.m., the gym was already close to a sellout. 

“That," Lancers coach Jim Reynolds said, "was absurd."

Then, the teams — and the game — lived up to the hype.

Second-seeded Salpointe Catholic topped third-seeded Catalina Foothills 56-50 to earn a spot in Saturday's Class 4A state championship game. The Lancers won their rubber match against Foothills thanks to a small-ball rotation made up mostly of guards.

“We have a high IQ, we help each other out on (defense) … and we move the ball,” said Evan Nelson, Salpointe's Harvard-bound senior. 

Senior guard Jordan Gainey finished the night with 19 points while Nelson scored 18, including seven in the fourth quarter. 

To counter Catalina Foothills’ length in the frontcourt — 6-foot-9-inch junior Will Menaugh scored 12 for the Falcons — Salpointe Catholic’s all-guard lineup of Nelson, Gainey, Braden Miller, Jake Cioe and Grant Weitman constantly pushed the tempo and shot from outside. 

“We could make their bigger guys guard our smaller guys away from the basket,” Reynolds said. “Our lineup is unique, because all of our guys can handle the ball, all the guys can shoot and they can all drive both to their left and right. We don’t seem to be totally taken advantage of for not being that tall. They’re all athletic guys and can rebound well for their size. Basketball has kind of gone to that a little more.” 

Weitman’s three-point play in the first quarter gave Salpointe a 6-5 lead, and the Lancers stayed in command the rest of the way. Weitman finished with 15 points. 

“We had a really strong first half, especially offensively, and they got into foul trouble and we took advantage of that,” Reynolds said. 

Catalina Foothills clawed back into the game during the second half. Hayden Moser's 3-pointer cut Salpointe's lead to 43-38 with 1:43 left in the third quarter. His layup less than a minute later capped an 11-point performance. 

“They’re a good team and they’re going to make a run," Reynolds said of Foothills. "It’s not like we didn’t expect it. … It was a hard-fought battle and we pretty much played with the lead from start to finish." 

Moser drew an and-one to make it a 53-50 contest with 25.4 seconds left, but Nelson’s hit free throws to seal the game.

“Evan Nelson was big for us down the stretch. He’s a big-time player who comes up and makes some big free throws,” Reynolds said.

Salpointe Catholic will face top-seeded Peoria (26-3) on Saturday at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix at noon. It'll mark the Lancers' third straight state title game appearance; they lost to Phoenix Shadow Mountain in each of the last two seasons. 

“We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Nelson said. “I feel like we have the best team talent-wise and we just have to put the same hard-work and heart into it. … I think we’ll get it done.”

Check out photos from Tuesday's game here: 

 

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Contact sports content producer Justin Spears at 573-4312 or jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter @justinesports