LV PREP: Foothill boys survive late scare, top Palos Verdes for win

With 1 minute, 39 seconds to play in the first half, Foothill’s boys basketball team led Palos Verdes (Calif.) 40-20.

And the Falcons nearly let the lead slip away.

The Sea Kings got as close as four points, but Foothill held on for a 67-60 win at the Las Vegas Prep Championship at Las Vegas High.

“We’ve got too many guys that look at the score,” Foothill coach Kevin Soares said. “Once they saw that big lead, they got comfortable. We stopped executing offensively, and (started) turning the ball over. Our young guards have to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”

Palos Verdes scored the final four points of the first half, then opened the second half with a 6-0 run with all six points coming off Foothill turnovers.

In the first half, it was Foothill that took advantage of miscues — the Falcons turned 16 Palos Verdes turnovers into 14 points.

But they scored just two points off turnovers in the second half, while turning the ball over nine times.

The Sea Kings chipped away at the Foothill lead, cutting it to four three times, but the Falcons were able to keep hold of the advantage each time.

“It’s kind of like a wake-up call for us,” Soares said. “It’s all fun and games when you’re up 18, 20 points. And then all of a sudden they cut it to four. And now their focus shifts back to being serious.”

Greg Cox had 21 points to lead the Falcons, who finished 3-0 in pool play. Brannon Cresanto scored 12, and Elijah Smith and Dakota Yamka each had 10 points for Foothill.

The Falcons play Durango in the Platinum Division at 10:30 a.m. at Las Vegas.

“We started the season out on a shaky note, but we’ve won six in a row now, and the kids have some confidence,” Soares said. “We’ve been playing a half each game this tournament. We’ve just got to put two halves together.”

Spencer Armer had 28 points for Palos Verdes.

Foothill 74, Desert Pines 58 — At Las Vegas, Cresanto had 22 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Falcons topped the Jaguars.

Yamka added 12 points, and Cox scored 11 for Foothill.

Leon Saunders led Desert Pines with 13 points. Jesse Martin added 10 points for the Jaguars.

Western 77, Legacy 74 — At Las Vegas, Kentrell Washington scored 10 points in the final 9:14 to help the Warriors hold off the Longhorns to finish 3-0 in pool play.

Washington finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Aaron Buckley added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Kenyon Washington had 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Cardon Harris had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Legacy, which tied the game six times in the final 10 minutes, but couldn’t take the lead.

Sir Washington’s free throw with 5:53 to play broke a 59-59 tie and gave Western the lead for good.

Zach Lane scored 19 points and Brandon Galindo 16 for the Longhorns.

Western 78, CedarBridge (Bermuda) 38 — At Las Vegas, Kentrell Washington and Ryan Johnson each had 16 points as the Warriors rolled.

Sir Washington had 15 points, Patrick Branch scored 12, and Kenyon Washington tallied 11 points for Western.

Legacy 71, Spring Creek 51 — At Las Vegas, David Jefferies had 16 points to lead the Longhorns past the Spartans.

Lane and Donovan Gray each added 10 points for Legacy, which outscored Spring Creek 35-21 in the second half.

Las Vegas 74, St. John Bosco (Calif.) 64 — At Las Vegas, Phil Dunigan had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Wildcats to the win and a 3-0 finish in pool play.

Juwan Major had 13 points, Hasaan Henderson added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Travon Langston had 11 points and eight boards for Las Vegas.

George Sanico contributed 10 points and six steals for the Wildcats.

St. John Bosco’s Cezar Guerrero had 35 points and 14 rebounds.

Las Vegas 75, Foothill JV 45 — At Las Vegas, Langston had 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Wildcats past Foothill’s junior varsity.

Dunigan and Sanico each added 10 points for Las Vegas, and teammate Major had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Tyler Roberts led the Falcons with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Liberty 38, Carson 36 — At Las Vegas, Aaron Navitsky scored 13 points as the Patriots edged the Senators to finish 3-0 in pool play.

Brian Barnes led Carson with 11 points.

Liberty 40, Chaparral 30 — At Las Vegas, Navitsky had 19 points to send the Patriots past the Cowboys.

Kevin Morgan and Aubrey Ferguson each scored eight for Chaparral, which managed just one field goal in the second half.

Durango 60, Banning (Calif.) 45 — At Valley, Joel Feigler and Joe Tuss each scored 14 points to help the Trailblazers pull away from the Pilots to finish 3-0 in pool play.

Greg Gentry added 11 points for Durango, which led 27-26 at halftime.

Michael Alexander scored 26 points to lead Banning.

Durango 74, Sunrise Mountain 62 — At Valley, Tuss and Tre’Von Wells each had 13 points to lead the Trailblazers past the Miners.

Cameron Stemley added 10 points for Durango, which jumped out to a 40-31 halftime lead and cruised to the victory.

Ariel Baggett paced Sunrise Mountain with 26 points, and teammate Shmarlio Tolliver scored 20.

Valley 78, Woodbridge (Calif.) 50 — At Valley, Christian Kessee had 18 points, and the Vikings built a 43-22 halftime lead and stormed past the Warriors to finish 3-0 in pool play.

Angelo Coleman added 13 points and four rebounds for Valley, which got 10 points from O’Neil Brauthigam.

Valley 92, Bonanza 56 — At Valley, Kessee had 21 points, and teammate Jarrett Coleman scored 19 to drive the Vikings past the Bengals.

Brauthigam added 12 points for Valley, which also got 11 points from Angelo Coleman.

Matt Figgins paced Bonanza with 24 points.

Chaparral 42, Hazard (Ky.) 40 — At Las Vegas, Hazard missed five shots from close range in the final 30 seconds as the Cowboys held on for the win.

Zach Krischbaum had 12 points to lead Chaparral.

B.J. Combs scored 16 for Hazard.

Clark 59, Desert Pines 52 — At Las Vegas, Brian McGriff had seven of his 13 points in overtime to lift the Chargers over the Jaguars.

DeAndre Henderson paced Clark with 15 points, and teammate Isaac Thibodeaux added 13.

Clark 56, Palos Verdes (Calif.) 53 — At Las Vegas, Wayne Pittman had 11 points to lead the Chargers past the Sea Kings.

Kameron Anderson added nine points, all in the second half, for Clark.

Armer scored 22 for Palos Verdes.

Del Sol 60, Eldorado 51 — At Valley, Fekadue Gebretekle scored 19 second-half points to help the Dragons rally past the Sundevils.

Gebretkle finished with a game-high 27 points, and James Johnson added 13 points for Del Sol. David Day supplied 11 points for the Dragons.

Julian Jacobs led Eldorado with 13 points, 11 of which came before halftime. Thomas Hooper added 11 points for the Sundevils.

Del Sol 62, Las Vegas JV 39 — At Valley, Chris Marshall scored 13 to help the Dragons cruise past the Wildcats’ junior varsity.

Gebretekle and Johnson each added 10 points for Del Sol, which stretched a 24-19 halftime edge into a 23-point final margin.

Ken Reese scored 13 points to lead Las Vegas.

Desert Vista (Ariz.) 75, Eldorado 66 — At Valley, Danny Powell had 35 points and Jeff Lowery 21 to fuel the Thunder in a win over the Sundevils.

Jacobs had 18 points for Eldorado, which got eight points and five rebounds from Curtis Stewart. DaQuan Thompson scored 11 for the Sundevils.

Valley JV 61, Sunrise Mountain 60 — At Valley, Anthony Chapple finished with 14 points, including the winning free throw with 0.4 seconds left, as the Vikings’ junior varsity rallied to top the Miners.

Sunrise Mountain’s Baggett led all scorers with 31 points, including a 3-pointer that tied the score at 60 with 15 seconds remaining, but a foul as time expired sent Chapple to the line for two chances to sink the game-winning shot.

Bonanza 73, Santee (Calif.) 68 — At Valley, Matt Figgins had 22 points, and John King added 12 second-half points, to help the Bengals pull away from the Falcons.

Teyshaun Campbell supplied 21 points for Bonanza.