Carr drives Canyon Springs boys past Wildcats

Canyon Springs guard Shaquile Carr told his coach before tipoff that he was more than ready for Thursday’s boys basketball game.

The senior proceeded to put on a show at Las Vegas High.

Carr finished with 19 points, 11 assists and four steals as the Pioneers dominated the Wildcats, 86-66. Canyon Springs (19-4) improved to 8-0 in the Northeast League, and moved a step closer to clinching the league’s No. 1 playoff seed. The Pioneers have a one-game lead over second-place Valley with two games to play.

“(Before the game) he told me, “Coach, I got your back,’” Canyon Springs coach Freddie Banks said. “I said, ‘Shaq, that’s good. You got to handle your business then.’ And that’s what he did tonight.”

Carr scored the Pioneers’ first four points and set the tone for the game.

He finished with 15 points in the first half, helping Canyon Springs to a 46-33 lead at halftime.

“He’s gotten a lot better,” Las Vegas coach Jason Wilson said of Carr. “He took care of the ball and found the open guys and did what a guy that signs at a Divison I college is supposed to do.”

It also helped that the Wildcats’ star player, Re’Kwon Smith, picked up his fourth foul with 4 minutes, 26 seconds to go in the second quarter.

Without Smith, who averages 25.1 points per game, Las Vegas (18-6, 5-3) struggled to score and take care of the ball.

“I probably screwed up by leaving Re’Kwon (Smith) in with three fouls,” Wilson said. “I took a gamble and bad things happened. He’s obviously one of the better players in the state. Without him on the floor, we lose scoring, we lose length (and) we lose defense.”

Patrick Savoy was forced to carry the offensive load for the Wildcats. The junior had 15 of his game-high 31 points before the half and finished with five 3-pointers. Smith scored 12 points before fouling out with 5:09 left in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Bey had 10 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots for Las Vegas, which had 24 turnovers.

The Wildcats still could finish in a second-place tie and earn the league’s No. 2 seed for the playoffs, but they must win their remaining two games and have Valley lose its final two.

“As a coaching staff and a team, we want to host a playoff game,” Wilson said. “We still have that opportunity. We’re going to have to clean up the turnovers. It’s a huge game. Senior night and we’re playing for second place in the division possibly.”

Jordan Davis led Canyon Springs with 27 points, and his brother Gerad Davis added 21 points and six rebounds. Darrell McCall added 10 points for the Pioneers.

“This was a crucial game for us and them,” Banks said. “Whoever won this game would put a lot of pressure on that first place spot.

“The win means a lot to us. The thing is that we’re trying to finish up strong. I have nine seniors, and they know every day we play that their season is (going to be) over with (soon). They know they’ve got to play basketball the way they’re supposed to. My ceiling is to get to state if we can. We’ve just got to play each game one day at a time.”