LV PREP: Liberty’s Delossantos sparks Patriots’ upset of Western

Liberty’s Ceferino Delossantos waited more than 26 minutes to attempt a shot on Wednesday.

But the 5-foot-6-inch sophomore guard made his first two attempts count.

With Western leading 50-42 and on the verge of pulling away, Delossantos hit consecutive 3-pointers to cut the lead to two, and the Patriots went on to upset the Warriors 62-57 in the Platinum Divsion semifinals of the Las Vegas Prep Championship at Las Vegas High.

“He’s just a sophomore, but that kid has more heart and more desire,” Liberty coach Pat Welby said. “Nothing phases him. He’s the littlest guy out there with the biggest heart.”

Delossantos’ first basket came with 5:21 to play, and he followed that with another trey with 4:33 to go.

“Without his points off the bench, it would probably (have) been a different story,” Welby said. “We’re real proud of him. He’s done a great job for us. And again, that’s our young guys coming through in a big situation.”

Western, down to seven healthy players in uniform, was clearly tired as it played its fifth game in three days.

And Liberty, which drew a bye into the semifinal round after three pool wins, took advantage.

After Delossantos cut the lead, Aaron Navitsky and Jeremy Lagasca helped Liberty take control.
Lagasca tied the game at 50 with two free throws with 4:03 to play, and a post bucket by Navitsky gave the Patriots a 52-50 lead.

A 3-pointer by Western’s Aaron Buckley temporarily gave the Warriors the lead again, but a basket by Navitsky and a three-point play by Lagasca with 2:19 to play gave Liberty the advantage for good.

Western had opened the season with 13 consecutive wins before running out of steam against Liberty.

The Patriots, meanwhile, continued to surge. Liberty was only 2-7 before the tournament began, but won their fourth-straight game to move into the championship.

“Being able to win games down the stretch is what it’s all about,” Welby said. “You’ve got to hit free throws, you’ve got to get stops, and we were able to do that this afternoon. Western’s very talented, and that just goes to show that our guys are growing up right before our eyes, and that’s really encouraging.”

Navitsky had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead Liberty. Lagasca added 11 points and six boards.

The Patriots take on Desert Vista (Ariz.) at 3 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas for the Platinum Division title.

“We set a goal to finish in the top three of this tournament, and it may have been a little bit lofty by some people’s standards,” Welby said. “But we knew we could reach that goal, and obviously, we will. And now we’ve got a great chance to win our division.”

Kentrell Washington led Western with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Buckley added 12 points, and Sir Washington and Kenyon Washington each scored 11.

Desert Vista (Ariz.) 59, Foothill 33 — At Las Vegas, the Thunder opened the second half with a 26-7 run, and rolled to the semifinal victory.

Danny Powell had 25 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots to pace Desert Vista.

Greg Cox led Foothill with 14 pionts.

Western 79, Valley 76 — At Las Vegas, Kenyon Washington scored five of his team-high 20 points in overtime as the Warriors edged the Vikings to move into the semifinals.

Kentrell Washington had 16 points, Aaron Buckley scored 14 and Patrick Branch added 11 for Western.

Christian Kessee led Valley with 19 points. Caleb Carter scored 15, and Angelo Coleman and Keenyn Thomas each had 11 points for the Vikings.

Foothill 72, Durango 69 — At Las Veas, Brannon Cresanto led four Falcons in double figures with 19 points as Foothill topped the Trailblazers to move into the semifinals.

Cox hit four 3-pointers en route to 18 points for Foothill. Augy French added 17 points, and Dakota Yamka scored 12 for the Falcons.

Durango’s Greg Gentry led all scorers with 32 points. Antonyo Robinson added 14 points for the Trailblazers.

Desert Vista (Ariz.) 66, Las Vegas 58 — At Las Vegas, John Marshall had 13 points to lead the Thunder into the semifinals.

Travon Langston and George Sanico each had 19 points for Las Vegas. Sanico hit a 3-pointer to cut Desert Vista’s lead to 50-45 with 6:04 to play.

Sanico was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw, and the Thunder answered with an 8-0 run to retake control.

Hasaan Henderson added 10 points for Las Vegas.

St. John Bosco (Calif.) 51, Chaparral 39 — At Las Vegas, the Braves outscored the Cowboys 34-22 in the second half to move into the Gold Division title game.

Braiten Madrigal had 21 points to lead St. John Bosco.

Zach Kirschbaum led Chaparral with 13 points.

Woodbridge 51, Clark 35 — At Las Vegas, Jimmy Harrington scored 13 points to help the Warriors top the Chargers.

Omar Lodin added 12 points, and Nick Gstrein scored 10 for Woodbridge.

Tyler Watts led Clark with 11 points.

Chaparral 56, Legacy 36 — At Las Vegas, Kevin Morgan had 15 points as the Cowboys routed the Longhorns to move into the semifinals.

Kirschbaum added 12 points, Jermaine Neal scored 11 and Luis Gomex 10 for Chaparral.

Ephriam Church led Legacy with 11 pionts.

Clark 56, Valley JV 34 — At Las Vegas, Watts had 12 points to lead the Chargers into the semifinals.

Wayne Pittman and DeAndre Henderson each added 11 points for Clark.

Woodbridge (Calif.) 44, Del Sol 42 — At Las Vegas, Gstrein scored 14 points to help the Warriors edge the Dragons.

Calvin Clark added 12 points, and Jimmy Harrington scored 11 for Woodbridge, which led 28-16 at the half.

Fekadue Gebretekle led Del Sol with 15 points. Tareg Omer scored 12 for the Dragons.

Eldorado 62, Hazard (Ky.) 61 — At Valley, DaQuan Thrower had 13 points, including a free throw with 3.9 seconds to play to give the Sundevils the win in the  Silver Division semifinals.

Markeith Floyd added 12 points for Eldorado, which led 42-21 at the half.

Hazard started the second half with a 17-2 run capped by a Matt Thompson 3-pointer.

Eldorado had started the game in similar fashion, taking an 18-3 lead. The Sundevils hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, including four from Floyd.

D.J. Billingsly had nine points, and Thomas Hooper had five rebounds and a game-clinching steal after Thrower’s go-ahead free throw.

Jon Combs led the Bulldogs with 23 points. Kyle Spencer added 13 points, three rebounds and two blocked shots for Hazard.

The Sundevils advanced to face Bonanza in the Silver Division championship at 11 a.m. Thursday at Las Vegas.

Bonanza 82, Spring Creek 60 — At Valley, Matt Figgins had a game-high 25 points — including four first-half 3-pointers — to lead the Bengals past the Spartans in the other semifinal.

Teyshawn Campbell added 13 points for Bonanza, which got scoring from 11 players.

Curtis Marcille scored 14 to lead Spring Creek.

Eldorado 100, Rio Rico (Ariz.) 41 — At Valley, Julian Jacobs led five Sundevil scorers in double figures with 17 points to help Eldorado rout the Hawks to move into the semifinals.

Donavin Wright added 16 points and Billingsley scored 14 for Eldorado, which got 13 points from Curtis Stewart and 12 points from Hooper.

Bonanza 76, Sunrise Mountain 57 — At Valley, Campbell scored 20 points to lead the Bengals past the Miners and into the semifinals.

Figgins added 14 points for Bonanza, and teammate Anthony Flores scored 10 .

Jalal Hall led Sunrise Mountain with 11 points.

BRONZE DIVISION

Desert Pines 69, Banning (Calif.) 60 — At Valley, Leon Saunders poured in 28 points to lead the Jaguars past the Pilots and into the championship game of the Bronze Division.

Josh Velarde added 16 points, and Najee McIver scored 13 for Desert Pines, which defeated CedarBridge (Bermuda) 52-32 in an early game.

Michael Alexander paced Banning with 33 points.

The Jaguars face Santee (Calif.) in the Bronze Division championship at 9 a.m. Thursday at Las Vegas.