DURANGO TOURNEY: Thompson takes advantage of perimeter space in Canyon Springs win

Canyon Springs senior Adrian Snow should see plenty of double teams in the post this season.

But that also should make the Pioneers more dangerous from the perimeter.

Junior guard Michael Thompson scored 22 points Saturday to lead Canyon Springs to a 61-49 win over Carson (Calif.) in the first round of the Amare Stoudemire Each 1 Teach 1 National Invitational at Durango.

“We like to go inside and attack the basket early on, and hopefully that will open up the outside,” Pioneers coach Daryl Branham said. “With Adrian in there, he’s going to draw a lot of defenders, so it should be a pretty good inside-outside game.”

Thompson also had nine rebounds, four steals and three assists for Canyon Springs (6-0), which will play Denver East (Colo.) in a quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Monday at Durango.

Thompson hit several shots from the perimeter, but only one 3-pointer — a third-quarter buzzer-beater from the wing to give Canyon Springs a 49-35 lead.

“He brought a lot of energy,” Branham said of Thompson. “It’s probably his best all-around game so far.

“Mike’s been struggling a little bit at the three-point line, and hopefully that will get him going. You can hit a 3 at the end of a quarter like that and hopefully boost yourself up a little bit.”

Donald Anderson scored 10 points, and Jeremy Alexander had nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Pioneers.

Canyon Springs started fast, jumping to a 16-6 lead, then began to pull away by opening the third quarter on a 12-4 run.
 
Las Vegas 66, Inglewood (Calif.) 64 — Tyree Anderson nailed a jumper from the free-throw line as time expired to lift the Wildcats past the Sentinels.

Anderson poured in 23 points for Las Vegas, which was 13-for-13 from the foul line. George Sanico added 14 points.

Las Vegas used an 18-8 advantage in the fourth quarter to rally for the win.
 
Liberty 69, McQueen 56 — Tim Rambo scored 13 of his 19 points in the first quarter to lead the Patriots to the win.

Rambo sank four 3-pointers in the first quarter, which ended with Liberty on top, 22-9.

Ashante Ross added 13 points for Liberty, which ended the game on a 6-0 run after the Lancers cut the lead to 63-56 in the final two minutes.
 
Palo Verde 62, Francis Parker (Calif.) 36 — Moses Morgan had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead the Panthers to the win.

Davion Pearson scored 11 points and Bronston Abad dished out six assists for the Panthers, who outscored the Lancers 36-13 in the second half.
 
Chaparral 58, Banning (Calif.) 38 — Kevin Morgan led three double-figure scorers with 12 points for the Cowboys, who used a 22-7 run in the third-quarter to pull away for the win.

Zachary Kirschbaum scored 11 points and Jermaine Neal added 10 for Chaparral.
 
Denver East 81, Centennial 51 — Four players scored in double figures as the Angels routed the Bulldogs.

Ben Vozzola had 17 points and Aaseem Dixon added 12 for Centennial, which was outscored 19-5 in the second quarter.
 
Dorsey (Calif.) 75, Basic 50 — The Dons scored the first nine points and sprinted to a 25-5 lead in a rout of the Wolves.

A layup by Zach Betz pulled Basic within 55-45 late in the third quarter, but Dorsey closed the game on a 20-5 spurt.

Kevin Bayes led Basic with 15 points.
 
Fairfax (Calif.) 72, Mojave 28 — The Lions held the Rattlers to single-digit scoring in all but the first quarter en route to an easy win.

Marques Strickland paced Mojave with five points.
 
Georgetown Prep (Md.) 70, Shadow Ridge 52 — The Mustangs couldn’t overcome a 43-24 halftime deficit.

Twelve players scored for Shadow Ridge, but only Zach Hafen reached double figures with 10 points.

Cheyenne 86, Northwood (La.) 54 — Brian Organ scored 15 points to lead four double-figure scorers in an easy win.

Ervin Leu added 14 points, Chris McCall had 12 and Victor Bermudez netted 10 for Cheyenne.

Valley 59, Ridgewood (Ill.) 53 — Khristian Kirkwood scored 15 points for the Vikings, who outscored the Rebels 23-13 in the fourth quarter on the way to the win.

O’Neil Brauthigam added 12 points and Christian Kessee had 10 for Valley.

Durango 53, Cedarbridge Academy (Bermuda) 22 — Donovan Williams scored 11 points to lead the balanced Trailblazers, who coasted to the win after taking a 38-15 halftime lead.

Silverado 70, Douglas 64 — Ruben Jackson scored 31 points to carry the Skyhawks to the win.

David Lutomski added 12 points and Dwayne Marshall had 11 for Silverado.

Leflore (Ala.) 64, Rancho 61 — The Rams lost despite 16 points from Amir Royal and 10 each from Tyler Gaston and Kevin Plascencia.

Pacific Hills (Calif.) 66, Green Valley 51 — The Gators were unable to climb out of a 24-11 hole after the first quarter.

Durrell McDonald scored 14 points and DeAndre Kambala 13 for Green Valley.