Red Mountain boys basketball coach Greg Sessions saw a film (actually a game) in November called The Battle of Red Mountain & North. He saw it a second time in December. Witnessed it a third time Wednesday night. He is still searching for the alternate ending.

For the third time since just before Thanksgiving, Red Mountain had defending 5A-I state champ North on the ropes for a half or better. And for the third time Wednesday, No. 3 seed North came back in the second half to turn away the 14th-seeded Mountain Lions, 69-62, this time in the first round of the 2011 state tournament at North High School.

The slight difference in this one was the dominant play of 6-foot-7 North center Alan Williams Williams, who averages 22 points a game, had modest outputs in the first two meetings between the teams of 24 (64-60) and 15 points (66-61). He equaled that two-game total with 39 on Wednesday to go with an unofficial 18 rebounds.

North (24-4) has now won its last 15 games and moves on to Saturday's quarterfinals where it will host Brophy,  a 61-54 winner over Cesar Chavez at 7 p.m. Red Mountain, a team plagued by narrow losses all season, finished 11-17. The Mountain Lions got 21 points from Eric Pacheco, including five 3s. Four came in the first half. Jordan Pratt chipped in with 15 points.

"Alan has done a tremendous job with his experience leading the others to try and win state again," North coach Joseph Bustos said. "The key this season and in this game was getting better on defense. We put better pressure on in the second half. A few more steals, a few more better opportuniites other than what we were getting from Alan."

Red Mountain did a more than adequate job against North's pressure in the first half. The turnovers were about even in the first half and ball movement got several layups in the first quarter and good looks for 3s in the second. Hitting 52 percent from the field in the first half, Red Mountain led at the break, 36-28.

After trading baskets early in the third period, North went on a 15-7 run that turned a 42-35 deficit into a one-point lead heading to the fourth. Willaims made 6-of-8 shot in the third period. Teammate Jordan Bellamy, who had a quiet first half with just four points, popped in 10 in the second half. Khoner Urias, who finished with nine points for North, had  several steals in the third and fourth period that led to points.

"We tried to play physical with (Williams), we put a body on him constantly," Sessions said. "He's just so strong. For a big guy, he's remarkable athletic. Good body control. You can be physical with him, and it doesn't effect his shot much."