Depleted Prospects advance in Super 64

They were running out of players and running out of strength. But the Las Vegas Prospects mustered enough determination Wednesday to stay in the running for the adidas Super 64 tournament title.

The short-handed Prospects reached today's quarterfinals by outlasting Cuttino Mobley Philly Pride 74-73 in overtime at Rancho High School.

The Prospects prevailed despite losing star point guard Jonathan Loyd six minutes into the game with a sprained right knee and having just five players available for overtime after Josh Lepley fouled out late in regulation.

Anthony Marshall and Chris James took over, making enough big plays to keep alive the Prospects' hopes of winning the Super 64 title. They'll take on Pump N Run Elite at 10:20 a.m. today at the Rancho main gym.

In other quarterfinal matchups, also at Rancho: the Hunting Park Warriors face Seattle Rotary Select, and Indiana Elite meets KC Pump N Run, with both games tipping off at 9 a.m; and the Atlanta Celtics and Florida Rams play at 10:20 a.m. opposite the Prospects.

The semifinals are scheduled for 2:20 p.m., with the championship game at 5 p.m.

"The boys did a hell of a job," said Prospects coach Anthony Brown, fighting back tears as he spoke. "We kept fighting, and we were in such great shape."

Earlier Wednesday, the Prospects defeated Colorado Select Blue 80-73, with Marshall scoring 24 points and James adding 19.

The Las Vegas team played that game short-handed as well, as guard Kylel Coleman did not show up. He also missed the game against Philly Pride. Brown did not know why the Bishop Gorman junior failed to appear.

The bad news continued when Jason West sat out the Philly Pride game with a staph infection in his left hand. When Loyd hurt his knee after scoring on a driving layup, it appeared it would be just a matter of time before the Prospects caved in from fatigue.

But they managed to survive with just six players -- then five after Lepley was called for his sixth foul.

James was fouled with 24 seconds left in regulation and made both free throws to tie the game at 67 and eventually force overtime.

"As the oldest guy on the team, the others look to me for leadership," said James, a Cimarron-Memorial graduate who will attend Kilgore (Texas) Junior College next month. "If I keep my composure, the rest of the guys will hopefully do the same."

Marshall followed James' cue. The Mojave junior guard had missed two free throws after the Philly Pride bench was assessed a technical foul with 51 seconds left in regulation.

He was looking for a chance to atone for the misses, along with an inbounds pass he fumbled away with 38 seconds to go. Marshall got his chance with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, driving the lane and hitting a scoop shot as he was fouled. He missed the free throw but gave his team the lead, 74-73.

"I was pretty frustrated with myself," said Marshall, who finished with 15 points, second to James' 20. "I felt if I could just calm myself down a little, I could make a play to help us."