Hot shooting Wildcats win
Juwan Major and the Las Vegas boys basketball team knew its plan coming into Thursday’s game against No. 7 Foothill wasn’t necessarily a lofty one.
With two starters at least 6 feet 4 inches tall, the Wildcats scheme to use their size as an advantage seemed reasonable.
But it nearly became a tall order.
“We wanted to give our bigs the ball and play inside-out,” Major said. “Unfortunately some of us got in foul trouble. But in the second half, we passed to the bigs, made some cuts, and got some open shots.”
With 6-foot-5 center Aziz Leeks in foul trouble for most of the first half, Las Vegas showcased their athleticism to overcome a physical Foothill squad and grab a 66-60 victory.
“Foothill’s a good program,” Las Vegas coach Jason Wilson said. “They’re scrappy and they play solid defense.”
As Las Vegas (3-2) sprinted up-and-down the court, creating plenty of fast-break opportunities in the first half, Foothill’s pestering defense forced the Wildcats into 12 turnovers.
Las Vegas, though, benefiting from a glaring size advantage in the post, attacked the glass and limited the Falcons’ second-chance opportunities.
“We’re really athletic,” said Major, who tallied 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter. “I think we can do anything. I think our team is really good at rebounding and shooting the ball. People think just because we’re big, we don’t have that 3-point shot.”
The Wildcats strong perimeter play, shooting 61 percent (16-for-26) from the field in the first half, helped build an eight-point halftime advantage.
“We told the guys at halftime that that might be a little bit of fool’s gold,” Wilson said. “I don’t know that we shoot that well all the time. We do have some good shooters who can knock down shots. But, again, I told them that we can’t rely on that outside shot.”
An 11-2 run to end the third quarter saw the Falcons (3-3) cut the deficit to 52-50. The spurt was highlighted by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer junior Ian Ellis.
However, that was the closet Foothill got.
The Falcons couldn’t overcome a turnover-plagued fourth quarter, in which both squads had trouble hanging on to the ball. Las Vegas headed to the foul line twice in the final 25 seconds to put the game out of reach.
“We got to the line once in the first half,” Wilson said. “I had pretty good confidence in the guys who were shooting that they would make.”
Junior forward Leo Goodman contributed 17 points and Sophomore Re’Kwon Smith had 12 points for the Wildcats.
“Hopefully this gives them a little bit of confidence that we can play with the good teams,” Wilson said. “Everybody respects Foothill, and rightfully so, because they’re well coach and their kids play hard.”
Senior forward Chris Echols led the Falcons with 16 points. Senior guard Brannon Cresanto contributed 11 points for Foothill, and teammate Elijah Smith chipped in 10 points.
