Before I can graduate, there’s some basketball to discuss. The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association boys and girls state tournaments are in Reno this week, and I took a break from writing my book about the 2015 football season (“The Year of the Butt Punt”) to make the trip north and check out all the action.
Victor Torres-Parra didn’t fully grasp the magnitude of his accomplishment until he stepped on the school bus Monday morning and was congratulated by the driver.
Adrian Ojeda and fellow senior Robert Razo each won individual state titles at Star of the Desert Arena, helping Green Valley capture its fifth consecutive team championship at the Division I state wrestling tournament.
The overall record is 29-1, and the national ranking is a robust fifth, and the goal of reaching another Division I state tournament has been realized, and everything they say about the Centennial High girls basketball team and its prominent place in Nevada history seems more than trustworthy.
And yet there is a good chance Karen Weitz’s mother today still thinks she screams at players too much.
Zach Collins had 24 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots and the Gaels escaped with a 71-69 win over the Bulldogs for their eighth consecutive Sunset title and a berth in next week’s Division I state tournament in Reno.
Justice Ethridge scored four points in two seconds, including a back-breaking jumper off an inbound steal that lifted the Bulldogs to a 71-56 win over the Gaels and their sixth straight region title. Centennial (29-1) heads to Reno next week for the Division I state tournament. Gorman, ranked No. 23 by USA Today, had its season end at 29-2.
Troy Brown scored 14 of his game-high 30 points in the third quarter, and Centennial pulled away for a 65-48 win over Durango in the Division I Sunset Region semifinals.
Both ranked in the Top 25 nationally by USA Today, the Gaels (29-1) and Bulldogs (28-1) will face off for a 14th consecutive time in the region final at 5 p.m. Friday at Arbor View.
Desert Oasis’ Taiga Miyano knocked down two 3-pointers in the first 1:02, helping the Diamondbacks open the game on a 15-2 run, and they rolled to an 87-65 win over visiting Legacy in the Division I Sunset Region quarterfinals.
Paulina Silcox’s free throw with 13.8 seconds remaining in overtime Tuesday gave the Panthers the lead, and Palo Verde came up with a crucial defensive stop on the final possession to hang on for a 71-70 victory over Arbor View in the Division I Sunset Region quarterfinals.
As expected, Arbor View captured the Division I Sunset Region wrestling tournament, outdistancing 2015 champion Shadow Ridge, 179-165.
Arbor View (50) holds a slim one-point lead over Cimarron-Memorial (49), while defending champion Shadow Ridge is in third place with 44 points, Bishop Gorman is in fourth place with 43 and Centennial rounds out the top five with 35 points.
Terrance Rock rolled a 695 series Wednesday to lead Liberty’s boys bowling team to a 7-2 win over Eldorado in a Sunrise Region semifinal at The Orleans.
The latest boys basketball coaches poll.
The latest girls basketball coaches poll.
