Longhorns outlast gritty effort by Miller, Panthers

Legacy boys basketball coach Jack Tarango normally wouldn't stress the importance of one regular-season game near the end of January.

But with a senior-laden team, Tarango made sure the Longhorns knew what was at stake Wednesday.

"We touched on it a lot during our practices," Tarango said. "'How is your team this year going to be thought of, and how are you going to be remembered?' This is a good first step, but obviously there's plenty of work to do."

Timothy Jeffries had a team-high 22 points, and host Legacy overcame a huge night from Palo Verde's Taylor Miller to earn a 74-68 victory in a pivotal Southwest League game.

Darious Dunson added 19 points and nine rebounds for Legacy (10-12, 2-3 Southwest), which moved into third place in league. The Longhorns swept the season series from Palo Verde, effectively giving them a two-game lead in the standings over Palo Verde.

"We did what we had to do," Tarango said. "In normal circumstances, the game would have been salted, but with Taylor Miller hitting from 30 (feet) a couple of times, they're never out of it."

Miller, a Southern Utah recruit, finished with 38 points and scored 25 in the second half despite a bloody nose to help Palo Verde (9-12, 1-4) rally after it fell behind by 20 points in the third quarter.

Miller hit a deep 3-pointer with three minutes left to cut Legacy's lead to 61-57, and James Camp (16 points) made a 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining that brought the Panthers as close as 64-60.

But the Longhorns went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line in the final 37.7 seconds to hold on.

"I thought we played pretty good defense on him, and to come up with 38 even when we're basically doubling him the whole game, I'm just really impressed with him," Tarango said. "A man of good character, and I really wish him the best of luck at Southern Utah. I'm glad I don't have to see him again, unless it's in the playoffs."

Legacy made only two field goals in the final 11:53 but drained 20 of its 24 attempts from the foul line in the fourth quarter, including a 15-for-18 effort from Jeffries. The Longhorns went 27-for-39 overall from the line.

"We were at a point where we felt pretty good; I think our kids felt maybe a little overconfident," Tarango said. "We were at a point where we absolutely could have broken the game open, but give Palo credit and Taylor credit. Amazing shooting night for him, and he brought his guys back in it."

Kameron Delgadillo supplied 11 points, and De'Andre Winder contributed 14 rebounds and five blocked shots for Legacy.

The Longhorns opened the game on an 18-6 run and led 34-27 at halftime behind 11 points from Dunson. Aidan Subira made a 3-pointer after being set up by Jeffries, and Delgadillo's drive capped a 16-3 run that put Legacy on top 50-30 midway through the third quarter.

"We fought hard through the game, made some free throws down the stretch," Tarango said. "Made a couple little mistakes that we definitely want to clean up, but we fought hard."

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ