DIVISION I-A BOYS: Greer, Dragons settle in for first playoff win

Del Sol’s boys basketball team had never participated in a playoff game prior to Tuesday night, and that inexperience was noticeable early against Mojave.

The Dragons committed 14 turnovers and shot just 9 of 24 from the field in the first half, but eventually found some rhythm behind senior forward Brian Greer.

Greer had 31 points and eight rebounds to lead the host Dragons to a 66-61 win over the Rattlers in the opening round of the Division I-A Southern Region tournament. Del Sol (21-6) meets Clark (19-8) at 4:40 p.m. Thursday at Spring Valley in a region semifinal.

“Just major jitters,” Del Sol coach Tyler Ehrke said. “(There were) a lot of uncharacteristic plays early by us and them too. I think just the first playoff game and the atmosphere that’s been created at this school got to them a little bit. But we calmed down and played the style we wanted them to play.

“We’re excited. The kids are pumped up, (but) this isn’t our goal. Our goal is to keep playing and take it one game at a time. We know we’re going to play good teams; we just tell them to play 32 minutes. We’re excited to be here and we think we deserve to be here.”

Del Sol, the Sunrise League’s No. 2 seed, struggled as a team in the first half but stayed competitive because of the 6-foot-2-inch Greer, who scored 16 of the team’s 24 first-half points. Mojave led 25-24 at the break.

“He was on tonight,” Ehrke said of Greer. “He was all over the boards, the put backs. He just slides and slips to the right places and moves at the right time. And he’s got such good touch around the basket. From 10 feet in, if he gets his hands on it, it’s going to go in.”

Greer and with seniors Rashaun Lawson, Noah Spearman and JonRoss Juhas came up big late after Mojave appeared to have gained momentum on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Malik Abbott to end the third quarter that gave the Rattlers a 49-46 lead.

“I just told them, ‘We’ve been here before,’” Ehrke said. “When you’ve got seniors on the court, you try to trust they’re going to make the right plays.”

Greer, Lawson, Spearman and Juhas combined to score 36 of the team’s 42 second-half points for the Dragons, who also got 13 rebounds off the bench from sophomore Jonathan Spearman.

Lawson finished with 12 points, five rebounds and eight assists, and Noah Spearman had 13 points and six rebounds for Del Sol.

“These guys have played with each other so long,” Ehrke said. “They just share the ball with each other and it’s not about me. We call it me-guy basketball. We don’t play me-guy basketball. We play as a team. If you get one point, or 31 points, everyone is going to be excited.”

Abbott finished with 20 points for Mojave. Jordan Glenn had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Daryl Adams scored 13 for the Rattlers (17-9).

“I’m really proud of our guys,” Mojave coach Colin Darfour said. “I liked the work they put in this year. They turned in the best record we’ve ever had in the four years I’ve been at Mojave. My hat’s off to Del Sol. They played a hell of a game. They made all their free throws, got all the loose balls that mattered.”

Chaparral 66, Faith Lutheran 65 — At Faith Lutheran, Marc Silas hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to allow the Cowboys to edge the Crusaders.

Silas scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, and Chaparral (16-11) used a 28-13 third-quarter run to erase a 33-23 halftime deficit.

Richard Nelson added 13 points, and Samuel Porras scored 11 for the Cowboys, who will face Desert Pines (20-8) in a region semifinal at 8 p.m. Thursday at Spring Valley.

Zach Friel led Faith Lutheran (19-8) with 18 points. John Molchon scored 14 points, and Elijah Kothe had 13 points for the Crusaders, who got 12 points from Blake Bell.

Desert Pines 69, Sierra Vista 46 — At Desert Pines, Coby Myles had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help the Jaguars top the Mountain Lions.

Capri Uzan added 20 points, and Trevon Abdullah had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Desert Pines.

Maka Ellis had 11 points for Sierra Vista (14-13).

Clark 70, Virgin Valley 42 — At Clark, Keyshaun Webb scored 17 points to help the Chargers run past the Bulldogs.

Darius Jackson added 11 points for Clark, which sprinted to a 32-15 halftime edge.

Jarrett Tietjen scored seven points for Virgin Valley (13-13).