SUNRISE BOYS BASKETBALL: Sundevils get revenge on Canyon Springs

The past three postseason appearances for the Eldorado boys basketball team ended with a loss to Canyon Springs.

The fourth time was the charm for the Sundevils.

Carl Crayon had a team-high 12 points and made a handful of key plays in the final 2:26 as host Eldorado outlasted the Pioneers 46-42 on Wednesday in a Division I Sunrise Region quarterfinal.

Eldorado (12-10), which lost to Canyon Springs in the opening round of the playoffs in 2014 and 2013 in addition to the 2011 region final, advances to face Foothill (12-15) in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Thursday at Liberty.

"I didn't know too much of the history about the playoffs as far as who they've went up against, but I did hear from a couple players that Canyon Springs is one team that they really wanted," Eldorado second-year coach Reggie Ingram said. "They kind of struggled in the third (quarter) a little bit, but they persevered, and when it came around to that fourth quarter, they were really solid defensively."

The Pioneers (10-10) shot 27 percent from the field and finished 4-for-20 from the free-throw line. Despite the shooting woes, the three-time defending region champions led 42-38 following a putback basket by Joseph Haulcy with 2:43 remaining in the fourth.

But Eldorado answered with an 8-0 run to close the game, and Crayon had a hand in every point.

"Every game, he's one of the three or four kids that's making plays like that, and he's probably the one making the majority of them," Ingram said. "Just it being the playoffs, he kind of struggled a little bit in the first half and a little bit in the third, but when it came to that fourth quarter, he buckled down."

Crayon drained a 3-pointer with 2:26 left to cut Canyon Springs' lead to 42-41, and after going 1-for-2 at the foul line to tie the score, Crayon split a pair of free throws to put the Sundevils on top 43-42 with 1:29 remaining.

After Canyon Springs was whistled for a charging foul with 39 seconds left, Crayon penetrated into the middle of the Pioneers' defense and found a cutting Shane Barnes for an easy layup with 18 seconds left that put Eldorado up 45-42.

"We were trying to hold the ball, but when you've got an opportunity for an easy layup, sometimes you can't really pass it up," Ingram said. "He made a great move down the middle of the lane and saw Shane streaking down the right side and gave him a great pass."

Canyon Springs called timeout with 14.8 seconds left and tried to set up a game-tying 3-point attempt, but Crayon poked the ball away from Zaahid Muhammad in front of the Pioneers' bench and was fouled with 7.7 seconds to go.

Crayon then made 1-for-2 from the foul line to put the game out of reach.

Muhammad led Canyon Springs with 12 points, including eight in the third quarter, to go along with a team-best eight rebounds.

Darion Jackson had eight points and six rebounds, and Jovon Coleman added seven points and seven rebounds for the Pioneers.

Canyon Springs made only six of its 35 field-goal attempts in the first half and trailed 22-15, but the Pioneers opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run and led 32-30 after a steal and dunk by Coleman late in the third.

Dyllan Kounovsky had eight points and 12 rebounds for Eldorado, which overcame 27 turnovers.

"That's kind of been our year," Ingram said. "We're really tight going down the stretch, neck and neck, basket after basket, and we get two or three of those plays where out of nowhere we get an easy layup or they make a great defensive stop.

"That's what I really like about this team. I have seven seniors, and they play very well together."

Foothill 67, Liberty 61 — At Liberty, Mauricio Smith led a balanced attack with 15 points as the Falcons rallied to beat the Patriots.

Marvin Coleman had 11 points, and Jeron Bodin scored 10 for Foothill, which trailed 48-42 after three quarters but outscored Liberty 25-13 in the fourth.

Cameron Burist scored 17 points for Liberty (13-14). Logan Koch had 16 points and Kahlil DeRouen 13 for the Patriots.

Coronado 84, Las Vegas 70 — At Coronado, Jake DesJardins tallied 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and teammate Kennedy Koehler had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Cougars over the Wildcats.

Trey Hurlburt added 10 points for Coronado (19-4), which will face Silverado (19-8) in a region semifinal at 4:40 p.m. Thursday at Liberty.

Deandre Northey had 17 points, and Donovan Joyner scored 15 for Las Vegas (10-17). Eric Hill added 13 points for the Wildcats.

Silverado 65, Green Valley 47 — At Silverado, Matthew Arnold scored 23 points as the Skyhawks topped the Gators.

Kris Coe had 16 points, and Tyric Johnson added 10 points for Silverado, which led 30-26 at the half.

Xavier Jarvis scored 14 points, and Canyon Lewis had 13 points for Green Valley (14-13).