Palo Verde’s Vogelei lets defense make statement
Ryan Vogelei isn’t one of Palo Verde’s leading scorers, and he didn’t make a field goal on Thursday.
But the 6-foot junior guard played a huge role off the bench in the second half.
Vogelei came up with three steals in the third quarter, and the Panthers fed off his intensity during a 20-2 third-quarter run on the way to a 75-72 victory over Centennial in the Sunset Region boys basketball semifinals at Arbor View.
“His tenaciousness and his battle ... he doesn’t care what size the kid is,” Palo Verde coach Paul Sanchez said. “We’ve had him guard big guys before. He just works hard and he does a great job. He did well.”
The Panthers (19-8) play Bishop Gorman (24-6) at 7 p.m. today at Arbor View for the championship.
Palo Verde sparked the run with its defense, forcing seven third-quarter turnovers and turning them into 12 points.
“When we force turnovers, get out and run and get in transition, it really just opens up our game,” said junior guard Taylor Miller, who finished with a team-high 17 points.
“We had a lot of energy, getting stops and getting shots and that’s what we do best.”
Centennial (21-6) led 34-30 before Connor Lemmon started the run with a runner with 4:59 to go in the third quarter. The Panthers extended their lead to 50-36 on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Ja Morgan with 29 seconds to go in the third.
The stops were fewer in the fourth quarter as Troy Brown and Darrian Traylor drove to the basket almost at will to spark Centennial’s comeback. Brown scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to two three times in the final 1:06, but Palo Verde was able to hold on at the free-throw line.
Grant Dressler had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Panthers, who got 16 points by Lemmon and 14 by Morgan. Miller added seven rebounds.
Traylor had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Garett Scheer had 14 points and nine rebounds for Centennial. Brown added 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow him on Twitter: @DamonSeiters.
