VEGAS INVITATIONAL: Rancho boys solve third-quarter woes, top Mountain View

Melvin Shivers is well aware the third quarter has been the Achilles’ heel for the Rancho boys basketball team this season.

So when the veteran coach left the locker room after halftime Thursday, he was surprisingly confident that the Rams could overcome their weakness.

Led by a trio of dynamic scorers, Rancho conquered its third-quarter woes to outlast Mountain View 62-57 in a quarterfinal of the Vegas Invitational.

“It sounds good to me,” Shivers said of his 2-8 team’s two-game win streak. “I told the kids, one more win and we’ll be in the finals. That’s something we haven’t done in a few years.”

Senior guards Josiah Timpson and Joseph Ortiz led the Rams’ sharp-shooting perimeter attack, scoring 19 points each. Jawaan James had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Rancho.

“Every night it’s going to be a different guy,” Shivers said. “Last night, it was Timpson. Tonight it was the big guy. That’s how our offense runs. It’s predicated on defense.”

However, no player proved more beneficial in the third quarter than Ortiz. The 5-foot-9-inch guard, who had nine steals, tallied 11 points in the period as Rancho held a 26-15 scoring edge.

“In the past, the third quarter has been our downfall,” Shivers said. “We don’t come out intense, and we make a lot of turnovers. This time I told them that if we protect the ball, we have a good chance of surviving this game.”

Fearlessly driving the lane, the Rams opened the second half with a 13-2 run. The swing allowed them to build an 11-point edge that was capped by Ortiz’s steal and successful layup. Timpson chipped in nine points in the third quarter, and Rancho shot 14 of 19 from the field in the second half.

Mountain View (6-6), which led 32-29 at halftime, committed seven fourth-quarter turnovers and shot 0-for-6 on 3-pointers in the period.

T.J. Kissinger led the Saints with 18 points.

Lake Mead 64, Adelson School 37 — Justin Yamzon hit seven 3-pointers on his way to 31 points as the Eagles soared past the Lions.

Wesley Brule and Brendan LeBaron each supplied eight points for Lake Mead, which led 32-16 at the half.

Sean Perry had 14 points for Adelson School.

Tech 79, Word of Life 41— Josh West scored 24 points and the Roadrunners sprinted to a 43-18 halftime lead en route to a victory over the Eagles.

Josh Toranzo paced Word of Life with 19 points, and teammate Emeka Okafor added 10 points.

Moapa Valley 61, Abundant Life (Utah) 36— Andrew Huerta scored 14 points to power the Pirates over the Warriors.

Landon Willard and Jackson Mortensen each had 10 points for Moapa Valley, which held Abundant Life to 12 first-half points.

St. Joseph (Calif.) 84, Sunrise Mountain 70 — Case Burton scored 14 of his 28 points in the third quarter as the Knights downed the Miners.

Curry Parham added 18 points for St. Joseph, which got 13 points from Keith Datu.

Zane Gibbs scored 18 points, and Shmarlio Tolliver chipped in 17 points for Sunrise Mountain.

Sage Hill (Calif.) 55, Pahrump Valley 49 — C.J. McCord scored 20 points, including four 3-pointers, to ignite the Lightning over the Trojans.

Tyler Hague added 11 points for Sage Hill, which held off Pahrump’s 9-0 run that cut the lead to 52-49 with one minute, 30 seconds remaining in the game.

Quon Cotton paced the Trojans with 10 points.  

St. Joseph (Calif.) 82, Calvary Chapel 40 — Burton scored 20 points, and Dominique Prophete and Parham each added 11 points as the Knights routed the Lions.

Drew Hammond led Calvary Chapel with 12 points.

Buckley (Calif.) 77, The Meadows 46 — Austin Butler tallied 16 points, and the Griffins bolted to a 19-3 first-quarter lead on their way to a win over the Mustangs.

Chase Holiday added 12 points for Buckley.

Adam Abdelaziz had 19 points, and Eric Hirsberg scored 13 for The Meadows.

Santana (Calif.) 51, Agassi Prep 44 — Dustin Murphy had 17 points, and the Sultans built a 41-28 lead after three quarters and held off the Stars.

Kobe Williams paced Agassi Prep with nine points.