Don't be surprised if Red Mountain makes some noise this coming postseason. 

The Mountain Lions secured the East Valley Region title Tuesday night with their second win over Mesa in an entertaining 70-63 road victory. 

Red Mountain forward Gage Lindsey scored a career high 28 points while sophomore guard Travon Darby added 22 for the Mountain Lions (19-5, 9-0).

The teams went back and forth most of the night and combined for 15 3-pointers. Mesa trailed by five at halftime (34-29) but took a 50-45 lead over Red Mountain heading into the fourth quarter.

That's when Lindsey and Darby really went to work, leading a 17-5 run to take control of the game. 

"I thought Mesa played well, but we were able to answer their runs every time," Red Mountain coach Chris Lemon said. 

"It feels really good to win region. I'm especially happy for this group of guys and what they've been able to accomplish." 

It's only the second region basketball championship since the school opened in 1988.

Mesa (18-6, 7-2) was without senior forward John Petersen, but the Jackrabbits came out firing, with freshman Kyi-Kyi Miles leading Mesa to an early 12-4 lead before Red Mountain worked its  way back into the game. Miles scored 15 of his 26 points in the first half. The teams went blow for blow until the last minute of the second quarter, when Red Mountain got back to back 3-pointers from Drew Hall and Lindsey, giving the Mountain Lions a five point lead. 

The Jackrabbits drained five three point baskets in the third quarter, three from Miles, and one apiece from Jarren Galarza and Josh Stewart. 

After Red Mountain's 17-5 run in the fourth quarter, Miles and Stewart scored back to back baskets to cut Red Mountain's lead to 64-61 with under two minutes to play. But Darby scored four points on consecutive layups, the second after a steal, making the score 68-61 and forcing Mesa to foul the rest of the way. 

Galarza finished with 17 points for the Jackrabbits. Drew Hall added 10 points for Red Mountain. 
"We really wanted that region championship," Lindsey said after the game. Beating Mesa twice means a lot. I think we can go really far in the playoffs."

Red Mountain entered the game at No. 22 in the Open Division power rankings, with Mesa close behind at No. 24. 

Red Mountain closes out its regular season tomorrow at home against Westwood. A win would give the Mountain Lions its fourth ever 20-win season. 

Mesa travels to Mountain View Thursday night. 

Mesa will be without Petersen--the team's second leading scorer--for the remainder of the season after he suffered a foot injury. 

"It was tough without John, but we won't use that as an excuse," Mesa coach Scott Stansberry said. "We have a little time to figure out how to play without him before the postseason. We will go back to the lab."