SUNRISE BOYS BASKETBALL: Efficient Foothill blows by Las Vegas

Foothill’s boys basketball team was mired in a shooting slump for most of the latter portion of the regular season.

But the Falcons broke out in a big way during their postseason opener.

Host Foothill shot nearly 61 percent from the field during the first half Tuesday and had five scorers in double figures during a 78-52 victory over Las Vegas in the Class 4A Sunrise Region quarterfinals.

Foothill (22-8) will play at Northeast League champion Canyon Springs (21-2), a 74-50 winner over Silverado, in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We’ve done a lot of shooting over the last couple of weeks, got in there early (Tuesday night) and got shots up,” Falcons coach Kevin Soares said. “I think the kids, when they start making shots, it helps their game. It helps them play more loose.”

Mauricio Smith led Foothill with 16 points to go with nine rebounds and three steals. Marvin Coleman added 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Carl Fischer scored nine of his 11 in the first quarter despite battling early foul trouble.

“Carl Fischer got us going in the first quarter right off the bat,” Soares said. “I was happy for him to see him do that because he’s been struggling a little bit.”

The Falcons made 23 of 38 shots in the first half and led 56-32 at halftime. Coleman had the final four points of the half, including an easy layup when Dylan Hushaw found him wide open on the baseline at the end of a long possession.

Hushaw had 10 points and three steals, and Jace Roquemore had 10 points for the Falcons, hitting two of the team’s seven 3-pointers.

“I liked the way we moved the ball,” Soares said. “We shared the ball. We found the open guy. We got really good, wide-open looks. We didn’t take too many contested shots. We also did a great job on the offensive glass.”

Donovan Joyner scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half and added four rebounds to lead Las Vegas (13-13). Mory Souhamoro made two 3-pointers and scored 10 points for the Wildcats.

Liberty 75, Rancho 70 — At Rancho, Dyllan Robinson led four double-figure scorers with 18 points as the Patriots topped the Rams in a Sunrise Region quarterfinal.

Cameron Burist tallied 16 points, Julian Strawther had 14 points and Logan Koch scored 10 for Liberty (13-14).

Chrys Jackson led all scorers with 25 points for Rancho (13-15). Justin Holiday had 17 points, and Dayshawn Robinson scored 12 for the Rams.

Liberty will play Coronado (16-9) in the Sunrise Region semifinals at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Canyon Springs.

Coronado 81, Valley 41 — At Coronado, Trey Hurlburt scored 16 points, and Kennedy Koehler added 12 points and nine rebounds as the Cougars routed the Vikings in a Sunrise Region quarterfinal.

Freddy Reeves, Nick Davis and Tahj Comeaux each supplied nine points for Coronado, which cruised to a 44-20 halftime lead.

Tommy Anderson scored 10 points for Valley (9-19).

Canyon Springs 74, Silverado 50 — At Canyon Springs, Christopher Hawkins and Kevin Legardy scored 21 points apiece to pace the Pioneers’ win over the Skyhawks in a Sunrise Region quarterfinal.

Elbert Bibbs added 10 points for Canyon Springs (21-2), which outscored Silverado 20-4 in the fourth quarter.

Silverado’s Devin Ross had 21 points, and Martell Williams scored 19 for the Skyhawks (11-17).

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.