Pinnacle's Nico Mannion (1) begins a move to the basket guarded by Desert Vista's Isiah Wilson (20) (AzPreps365 photo)

In a game that was about as even as it could be in all facets, Pinnacle won the final category going away -- overtime.

The No. 2 seeded Pioneers outscored No. 4 Desert Vista, 10-0, in an extra period to reach the championship game for the first time since 2014 with a 77-67 triumph over the Thunder in a 6A thriller at Wells Fargo Arena.

Pinnacle (22-7) plays #5 Mountain Pointe, a 62-58 winner over top-seed Brophy Prep in the  championshio game set for Wednesday Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. Desert Vista, which trailed by 10 late in the third period to make it a game again in the final quarter, finished 25-5.

 Sophomore guard Nico Mannion sank five free throws and senior forward Mason Johnson the only field goal of overtime to silence Desert Vista.  Mannion finished with 34 points making 15 of 17 free throws. Mannion played a good chunk of the fourth period on with four fouls. Johnson was next in scoring with strong play inside. Johnson tallied 15 points.

Pinnacle, which has suffered some tough losses in the playoffs in the past, including two title games to Corona del Sol in 2013 and 2014, didn't want this one going that way.

The Pioneers rallied from one down at half to lead 52-42 with 2:24 left in the third period. Those 2 -plus minutes later they were behind one as they were to begin the quarter.

"Going into the fourth quarter we'd lost the lead we had and just focused on defense and getting stops when we came back out," Mannion said. "The OT was even more intense. We had to tough it out."

The see-saw fourth quarter ended in a tie thanks to two clutch free throws by Desert Vista's Wesley Harris (17 points and 15 rebounds) with 20 seconds left. Pinnacle had a chance to win, but Mannion's runner in the lane dipped in and out.

In overtime Alex Fisher started Pinnacle's 10-0 run with two free throws. Trent Brown added one free throw, Johnson hit his putback and Mannion scored the final five from the line. All that was sandwiched around seven missed field goals by Desert Vista.

Desert Vista's leading scorer Tyrek Chambers, who finished with 12 points, missed all four shots he took in overtime - three from three-point range.  For the game Chambers made just 3 of 19 shots.

Pinnacle switched defenders on Chambers down the stretch with 6-6 swingman Jordan Mains getting the call. Mains helped cure a rebounding deficit from the first half with 10 in the game - eight in the second half.

"Their length bothered us early," Pinnacle coach Charlie Wilde said. "When it got late we decided to move Mains over to cover Chambers and I think his lenght bothered Chambers. We did a better job on defense and rebounding to get stops in the second half."

Spencer Rattler joined Mannion and Johnson in double figures scoring with 12 before fouling out in regulation. Guard Trent Brown, who missed the first half of the season due to injury, came up with seven points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Desert Vista center Christian Anigwe, who fouled out with 5:12 left in the game, was a handful when he was in the lineup. Anigwe led the Thunder with 19 points.