Ryan Richardson and his teammates realized after losing to Corona del Sol last week in the section semifinals  there are no more second chances in the 2012-2013 season.

Dobson finally played with that reality in mind in the second half Thursday night and pulled away in the final period for a 63-54 win over Highland in the opening round of the Division I state boys basketball tournament at Dobson High

Richardson scored 16 of of 18 points in the second half and bludgeoned Highland with three straight 3s to highlight a 15-0 run that brought Dobson from a 42-36 deficit with 1:30 left in the third period to a 51-42 lead with 4:17 left in the game. Dobson's big three of Richardson, Jaron Hopkins and Kodi Justice combined for 48 of the Mustangs 63 points. Hopkins moved to more of an inside presence in the second half and left the perimeter game to Richardson. Justice became the ball handler and distributor and it worked out beautifully for the hosts in the end. 

No. 13 Dobson (19-11) next faces No. 4 Mesa High on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Jackrabbit Gym in the round of 16. Dobson dropped a 57-40 decision to Mesa back in December. Highland, the No. 20 seed, fell to Dobson for the third time this season in as many tries and concluded the campaign 18-10.

Highland led much of the first half and most of the first three periods. The first half the Hawks went to their big man, 6-5 forward Jake Toolson. Toolson dominated the lane and hit one long 3 among 14 first-half points and six rebounds. Dobson shifted to a zone in the second half and while Toolson wasn't a factor (one missed shot in the third quarter), teammate Bryce Farabee picked up the slack pouring in nine of his game-high 21 points to keep Highland on top heading to the final period, 42-40..

It was keeping Toolson at bay, however, that concerned Dobson the most.

"We thought about starting out with zone," Dobson coach Rick McConnell said. "We were nervous about doing it. The second half we decided to do that. We had to do something to contain him."

Toolson finished with 18 points, but scored all four of his points in the second half on technical-foul, free throws. Toolson was 0-for-5 from the field in the second half. HIghland shot poorly the final period making just 2-of-16 field goals -- both in the final minute of play.

Highland made four free throws to pull within 51-46 with 3:14 to play, but another 10-0 Dobson run the next two minutes put the Hawks away. The run was a three-point play (put back by Hopkins), driving layup by Justice, a putback by Richardson and three-point play by Mike Mellinger.

"We're playing well together," Richardson said. "The season's coming down to the end, so we have to."