Mesa Dobson picked up 27 points from 3-point range and had four players in double figures en route to a 74-65 win over No. 2 Phoenix Pinnacle (5A-II) on the first day of the Arizona Basketball Challenge at Mesa Mountain View High School.

Dobson got 19 points from Taylor Johnson, 16 from John Bailey, 13 from Ian Wallace and 12 points from Melvin Douglas in the victory.

The Mustangs (6-5) were also able to hold Pinnacle star Taylor Rohde, who led all scorers with 27 points, to only nine in the second half.

The highlight of the game was a 12-0 run by Dobson late in the second half, which came after Johnson fouled out with eight minutes left in the game.

“It was a good game for us,” Dobson coach Rick McConnell said.

“We had some troubles guarding really good players, and Rohde had 19 at the half, but Melvin did a nice job staying with him and making him earn his points.

“I thought we were more aware and a little more intelligent on defense.”

Pinnacle went on a 10-3 run in the second half to pull ahead 56-52 with about 10 minutes left.

However, just as it appeared the momentum had shifted to the Pioneers (10-3), the Mustangs went on their 12-0 run.

Pinnacle shot 40 percent from the field in the second half compared with Dobson’s 61 percent.

Although Dobson was up just 72-65 with 2:43 left, Pinnacle Coach Charlie Wilde yanked his starters for the remainder of the game.

“We were just not giving the effort we need to on the defensive end and not doing what we expect them to do for Pinnacle basketball,” Wilde said. “We have great kids and, sometimes, they just need to be awakened a bit. We just felt like we needed a little punch off the bench.”

Wilde had something in mind for the Pioneers’ upcoming practices.

“We need to be a better defensive team,” he said. “We did have good defensive flashes and good execution flashes. We just need to do it for a full 32 minutes.”