Miller, Panthers pour it on late to top Arbor View

Taylor Miller wasn't happy with the way he started the game on Monday night at Arbor View.

But for Miller and his Palo Verde boys basketball team, it was all about the finish.

The senior scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, and the Panthers closed the game on a 15-0 run to top the Aggies, 63-58.

"We closed out the game the way we wish we started," Miller said. "We really brought the intensity being down. We looked at the scoreboard, saw we were down 10, and the switch turned in us and we started picking it up."

Arbor View's Sevonyae Smith scored on a stick-back with 3:30 to go to put the Aggies (3-5) up 58-48. They wouldn't score again.

Junior guard Joshua Darling didn't score Monday, but he had consecutive steals to spark the defense down the stretch. He finished with four steals, and the Panthers (5-3) forced eight fourth-quarter turnovers to aid their comeback.

"Josh Darling had a couple back-to-back turnovers for us and kind of picked the whole team up," Palo Verde coach Paul Sanchez said. "And we were able to keep our focus, especially on the offensive end."

The fouls piled up for Arbor View, and Palo Verde was in the double bonus with more than three minutes to play. The Panthers took advantage, going 7-for-8 from the line in the final 3:04.

Miller hit all six of his free throws in that stretch, including a pair with 1:15 to go that gave the Panthers a 59-58 lead. It was Palo Verde's first lead since late in the third quarter.

"We were in the double bonus, so I just tried to attack and get to the line," Miller said.

Cole Hendershot had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Palo Verde, which struggled out of the gate. The Panthers were 3-for-20 from the field in the first quarter, and Miller was just 2-for-9 as Arbor View took a 21-11 lead.

"If we can sustain that level of intensity throughout the whole game, we can be OK," Sanchez said. "We're seeing improvement from the new kids on the varsity to understand, hey, this is what I've got to do to help us win."

Jesse Vogel had 21 points and five assists to lead Arbor View. He scored seven consecutive points in transition on two layups and a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 52-41 lead with 7:05 to play.

Jarrod Burks added 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots for the Aggies.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at 702-380-4587 or dseiters@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DamonSeiters