Eldorado boys top Cheyenne
Some basketball teams get in trouble when they try to play too quickly. Eldorado seems to be at its best with the pedal to the metal.
The Sundevils punched the accelerator in the second half Thursday, coming from behind for a 65-59 win over Cheyenne for the Gold Division title at the Las Vegas Prep Championship at Las Vegas High.
"We've got to react more than try to think out there," Eldorado coach Phil Olsen said. "Sometimes we get to where we think too much, and we've just got to use our speed and our athleticism and get out and run and play pressure defense.
"When we have to sit there and think, we tend to slow down."
Cheyenne controlled the tempo and was on fire from the perimeter in the first half, as the Desert Shields took a 41-30 lead into intermission.
Jamal Peterson was especially effective, making 7 of 10 shots. He was 2-for-3 on 3-pointers and had 18 first-half points.
Cheyenne was 17-for-29 from the field (58.6 percent) in the half, including 4-for-7 on 3-pointers. But Eldorado turned up the pressure after halftime, and the Desert Shields cooled off, going 7-for-30 from the field (23.3 percent) after the break.
"I think that was really the deciding factor -- they didn't shoot the ball well in the second half," Olsen said. "We picked up our defense and ran the ball better."
Da'Quon Thrower's driving layup with 6:55 to play put the Sundevils up 52-51, and they didn't trail again.
Thrower and D.J. Billingsley each had eight points in the second half for Eldorado.
"Offensively we concentrated on pushing the ball up the floor and getting the quick shot and trying to speed up the game (in the second half)," Olsen said.
Billingsley and Markeith Floyd each had 15 points, and Thrower scored 10 for the Sundevils. Billingsley added nine rebounds, and Floyd and Thrower each had five assists.
Peterson had 20 points for Cheyenne. Khalid Banks added 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Jaquon Coleman had 10 points and five assists, and Bryan Laws got 11 rebounds.
Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.
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THURSDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
BOYS
• Shabazz Muhammad had 22 points to lead Bishop Gorman to a 76-38 victory over Lakota East (Ohio) in the Beach Ball Classic at Myrtle Beach, S.C. Muhammad passed C.J. Watson to become the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,640 points.
• Bonanza's Carter Olsen made five 3-pointers and totaled 25 points to lead the Bengals to a 64-34 win over Spring Creek in the Bronze Division title game at the Las Vegas Prep Championship at Las Vegas High.
• Spring Mountain's Roemello Brandon had 15 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots in a 55-45 win over Tech in the Vegas Invitational at Mountain View.
GIRLS
• Green Valley's Angelica Mack totaled 35 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Gators to two wins in the Monsoon Classic at Surprise, Ariz.
• Legacy's Markeisha Evans had 11 points and 11 rebounds -- all in the second half -- to power the Longhorns to a 55-52 win over Lou Dantzler (Calif.) in the West Coast Holiday Festival at Norco, Calif.
• Valley's Tyricia Payne scored 10 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter of the Vikings' 52-45 win over Shadow Ridge in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic at Centennial.
