SUNRISE REGION: Garcia stands alone, helps Vikings advance to semifinals

Teams often lean on their seniors in the postseason.

For Valley, that means Adalberto Garcia, the lone senior to play for the Vikings on Wednesday. And though he made only one field goal, it was a big one.

Garcia knocked down a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to break a 32-32 tie, and Valley (17-11) wouldn’t trail again in a 51-47 win over visiting Liberty in the Sunrise Region boys quarterfinals.

“That was huge senior leadership,” Valley coach Brian Farnsworth said. “He got us into the play with five seconds left and called his own number and came through.”

The shot was especially important for a young Valley squad that started five juniors. Eight juniors hit the floor for the Vikings.

“I don’t know if any of our kids have ever been in the playoffs,” Farnsworth said. “We had some playoff anxiety, and it kind of showed. We didn’t shoot the ball like we’re capable of.”

Valley was 17-for-46 (36.9 percent) from the floor against Liberty’s zone defense.

“We played exactly how we wanted to,” Liberty coach Pat Welby said. “We sat in a zone and took away thier dribble penetration. And our guys did a good job of following our game plan. We just missed too many free throws. That’s the difference right there.”

Liberty (16-13) was 14-for-27 from the free-throw line, and missed five foul shots in the fourth quarter as the Patriots tried to catch the Vikings.

 

Valley led 48-42 after a dunk by Angelo Coleman with 37 seconds to go. But a three-point play by Thomas Lauguico cut it to 48-45.

 

Following a Valley turnover, Lauguico scored on a drive to make it 48-47 with 17 seconds left.

The Vikings made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the win, nailing 8-for-13 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

“Even down the stretch, we didn’t hit free throws as well as we normally do,” Farnsworth said. “I think it’s just that playoff anxiety, but I’m glad they found a way to win.”

Coleman led the Vikings with 13 points, and teammate Christian Kessee scored 10.

Giovanni Shelton scored 13 points — nine in the fourth quarter — to lead Liberty. Ashante Ross added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Patriots.

Valley will face Foothill in the semifinals at 4:40 p.m. Thursday at Liberty. Coronado plays Canyon Springs in the other semifinal at 8 p.m.

Foothill 82, Desert Pines 69 — At Foothill, Evan Roquemore had 23 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Falcons past the Jaguars.

Augy French added 23 points and 10 rebounds for Foothill (22-6). Ty Copeland supplied 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Falcons, and teammate Greg Cox contributed 10 points.

Chancellor Davis led Desert Pines (10-13) with 26 points. Tyler Larson added 17 points for the Jaguars.

Coronado 73, Chaparral 66 — At Coronado, Austin Nelson had 27 points and 11 assists as the Cougars rallied from an early 22-16 deficit to eliminate the Cowboys.

Brandon Glanz added 23 points and 15 rebounds for Coronado (23-6).

Gaven Holcomb scored 11 points for the Cougars.

Bre Onta Griffin paced Chaparral (13-16) with 19 points. Jermaine Neal added 15 points, and Zachary Kirschbaum scored 13 for the Cowboys, who made just 6 of 19 free throws.

Canyon Springs 91, Silverado 70 — At Canyon Springs, Michael Thompson scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as the Pioneers bolted to a 27-12 first-quarter lead en route to the victory.

Adrian Snow added 14 points and five rebounds for the Pioneers. Donald Anderson had 13 points and five assists, and Jeremy Alexander tallied 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for Canyon Springs (23-3), which held the Skyhawks to nine second-quarter points.

Dwayne Marshall and Daniel Young scored 14 points apiece for Silverado (14-13), and Ruben Jackson supplied 12.