VEGAS INVITE: Stars boys use fast start to hold off Hornets in return to court

With his team playing its first game in more than two weeks, Agassi Prep boys basketball coach William Hopkins knew the Stars might be rusty.

It just took a while for that rust to manifest.

Agassi Prep jumped to a 14-2 lead and held on for a 70-63 win over Beatty on Monday in the first round of the Vegas Invitational at Mountain View.

“In an ugly win, you scrap and claw, but you still get the win,” Hopkins said. “That’s the most important thing.”

Kailinn Jackson led Agassi Prep (2-1) with 17 points and five rebounds. The junior swingman scored 12 in the third quarter to help the Stars regain momentum after they were outscored 14-9 in the second period.

Curtis Watson added 14 points and five rebounds for Agassi Prep, and teammate Quincy Brown supplied 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Stars were playing in their first game since a 61-58 home loss to Los Angeles Community Charter on Dec. 11.

Hopkins was pleased with the outcome, but wanted to see his team more frequently work the ball inside to post players Brown and Anson Williams, who finished with six points and four rebounds.

“We should have stayed inside,” Hopkins said. “Until you stop me, I’m not shooting another jump shot. Inside, inside, inside. That’s the frustrating part, but they’ll get there.”

Brown and Watson are among the leaders in a veteran group that helped Agassi Prep reach the Class 2A state title game two years ago.

Along with newcomer Jackson, Hopkins believes the Stars have enough talent to put together a special season.

“The possibilities are limitless,” he said. “I already planted the seed of state. We’ve got plays called 'state.’

“We didn’t get many games in the beginning, and the more games we play, it increases their confidence level. This is going to be a good springboard.”

Senior guard Ramiro Hernandez led Beatty (6-7) with 22 points and three steals.

Jose Moreno scored 12 points for the Hornets, and teammate Ivan Maldonado had 10 points and six rebounds. Anthony Turner supplied four points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks for the Hornets.

Lake Mead 73, Adelson School 51 — L.J. Yamzon hit eight 3-pointers and tied a tournament record with 35 points to help the Eagles rout the Lions.

Yamzon did all his scoring in three quarters to help Lake Mead build a 69-39 lead.

Cris Cockrell added 10 points for Lake Mead.

Mendy Berrebi scored 13 points, and Jack Wessells added 11 points for Adelson.

Mountain View 67, Desert Christian (Calif.) 62 — Justyn Anderson compiled 31 points and nine rebounds to lead the Saints past the Knights.

Matthew Larson had 11 points and six rebounds, and Alex Capozzoli scored 10 points for Mountain View, which closed the game on a 7-2 run.

William Kreiger led Desert Christian with 17 points.

Tech 53, White Pine 46 — Manny Gonzalez hit four first-quarter 3-pointers on his way to 19 points as the Roadrunners defeated the Bobcats.

Michael Johnson added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Tech, which led 21-11 after one period.

Jake Johnson led White Pine with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Buckley (Calif.) 67, Needles 58 — Freshman guard Larry Bush racked up 23 points to help the Griffins beat the Mustangs.

Tyler Carter-Coppin scored 17 points for Buckley, which took control with a 35-23 second-half run.

Michael Hills paced Needles with 16 points, and Aaron Burns supplied 15 points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs.

Pahranagat Valley 55, Aussie Travelers 44 — Kale Leavitt, Tyler Higbee and Derek Hansen scored 10 points each as the Panthers downed the Travelers.

Cody Hosier and Jeremy Roemer scored nine points apiece for Pahranagat Valley, which used a 25-10 run in the second quarter to pull away.

Nick Womersley led Aussie Travelers with 10 points.

Calvary Chapel 36, Spring Mountain 31 — Cody Taylor, Joey Peterson and Cody Moreno scored eight points apiece to help the Lions rally past the Eagles.

Calvary Chapel used a late run to pull ahead, outscoring Spring Mountain 19-12 in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Cavanaugh and Maurice Williams each scored nine points for Spring Mountain.

St. Joseph (Calif.) 88, The Meadows 55 — Case Bruton scored 15 points to help the Knights rout the Mustangs.

Curry Parham (11 points), Brad Zimmer (11), Paul Avila (10), Justin Whitten (10) and Keith Datu (10) also scored in double figures for St. Joseph, which raced to an early 30-5 lead.

Garrett Gosse led The Meadows with 17 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Austin Brown added 16 points for the Mustangs, and teammate Max Newman scored 12.