Canyon Springs pushes past Silverado

Canyon Springs lost its entire starting lineup from last year's boys basketball team that won the Class 4A state title.

The Pioneers' newcomers to the playoff stage didn't look intimidated Wednesday night.

Sophomores Shaquille Carr and Gerad Davis scored 21 and 17 points, respectively, to lead Canyon Springs to a 71-62 home win over Silverado in the quarterfinals of the Sunrise Region playoffs.

"My team is real young, but they fight all day long. They don't give up," Pioneers coach Freddie Banks said. "In order to get to the next level, you've got to have some type of heart. If you don't have heart, you can't play in this type of game."

Canyon Springs (18-9) will play at Foothill (16-11) in the semifinals at 4:40 p.m. today.

Carr, a guard, scored nine points in the fourth quarter, including a 7-for-9 stretch at the free-throw line.

James Jones was 7-for-8 at the foul line in the fourth period for Canyon Springs, which finished 28-for-41 from the line.

"Free throws, that's all we talk about at practice," Carr said. "We get a hundred shots up. That's how you win games."

A 3-pointer from David Ware and a transition layup by Kenneth Leo pulled Silverado (20-6) within 59-52 with 3:30 remaining.

But Jones sank a pair of free throws with 3:11 left to give Canyon Springs a 61-52 lead.

"If you can't hit free throws in the fourth quarter, something's going to happen, and you can end up losing the game," Banks said. "So that was good for us tonight."

Ladarell Mongkholtham scored nine points, and Nick Scott had seven points and nine rebounds for Canyon Springs, which eliminated Silverado in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.

Silverado senior guard Ruben Jackson suffered an apparent leg injury late in the second quarter and sat out most of the second half, finishing with nine points.

Justin Johnson scored 22 points for the Skyhawks, and Ware supplied 17 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Canyon Springs closed the first half on a 16-8 run to take a 37-27 lead, and the Pioneers stayed in front the rest of the way.

Johnson scored in the lane to bring Silverado within 51-44 with 6:02 remaining, but Carr scored a driving layup on the Pioneers' ensuing possession.

"As a group, we played great," Carr said. "We're all getting together as a team, and it feels good."

■ Foothill 80, Desert Pines 62 -- At Foothill, Brannon Cresanto had 21 points and nine assists to lead four double-figure scorers and help the Falcons down the Jaguars.

Darren Buckles had 14 points and Greg Cox 11 for the Falcons, who also got 10 points from Austin Starr. Taylor Montgomery grabbed 15 rebounds for Foothill, which used a 22-8 third quarter to seize control of the game after leading by three at halftime.

Najee McIver had 20 points and Jessie Martin 12 for Desert Pines (14-7).

■ Green Valley 69, Las Vegas 66 -- At Green Valley, Devan Kohn scored 25 points, including a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, to help the Gators hold off the Wildcats.

Durrell McDonald added 20 points and eight rebounds for the Gators (15-12), who will meet Valley (22-6) in a semifinal at 8 p.m. today at Foothill. Brandon Hoisington had 10 points for Green Valley.

Phil Dunigan led five double-figure scorers with 13 points for Las Vegas (18-9). Juwan Major added 12 points, and Hasaan Henderson, James Robinson and Traven Yancey each scored 10 for the Wildcats, whose potential game-tying 3-point attempt came up short at the buzzer.

■ Valley 72, Coronado 66 -- At Valley, Ryan Johnson scored 20 points, and Caleb Carter provided 17 points and nine rebounds as the Vikings stormed back to oust the Cougars.

Cameron Burton scored all nine of his points on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for Valley, which trailed 56-49 after three quarters.

Michael Louder scored 26 points for Coronado (13-9), and Dominique Muhammad supplied 16 points.