No more Elite 8 at least for now.

San Tan Charter is just elite after hoisting a gold ball for the first time. The last two years ended in the quarterfinals for the Roadrunners, including last year’s disappointing exit as the No. 1 seed.

This season, San Tan Charter nabbed the No. 1 seed again but this time confirmed its top-dog status after defeating Rancho Solano Prep 69-54 in Saturday’s 2A championship at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

“We did what we set out to do,” Roadrunners third-year coach Kyli (pronounced Kyle) Crooms said. “Last year we struggled and went home early but to now to do this, it’s a great feeling.”

Feeling great likely isn’t what Crooms was experiencing at the start of the third quarter, however, when his squad trailed by 13.

But that’s when a freshman with a shaggy hairdo and a slick game ignited a run that turned the tide in the game. Peyton Lubash’s four-point play with 6:11 sparked a 22-2 third quarter run that was capped by a Zaire Richardson buzzer beater.

Lubash and Richardson (33 combined points) are the team’s leading scorers, but San Tan Charter’s defense and bench, which outscored Rancho Solano Prep’s bench 19-0, also played key roles in the comeback victory.

“We always fight and come together as a family and come back,” Richardson said. “And play as dogs. That’s all we did.”

San Tan Charter's defense helped keep Jake Miller scoreless in the second half after hitting 4 of 7 three points attempts and scoring 15 first half points.

Aidan Mushahwar, Sagith Vargas and Jayden Johnson each scored in double figures for Rancho Solano (24-6) as well.

“They (Rancho Solano) just knocked down shots, got to their spots and ran their plays,” Crooms said. “They were crisp and sharp in the first half.

“We had to speed them up and bump them off their spots.”

That doesn’t often happen against Rancho Solano, which made its fifth state title appearance in the last seven year and is 81-3 against 2A competition during that stretch.

But Saturday belonged to San Tan Charter, which finished its 2023-24 campaign with a 29-3 record and an 18-game win streak.