Palo Verde picks up pace

Just as Clark started to pull away from Palo Verde on Wednesday, the Panthers decided to speed up the Chargers.

It turned out to be the answer, as Palo Verde forced 11 fourth-quarter turnovers on the way to a 70-64 road win over Clark in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A Sunset Region boys basketball tournament.

"Time was ticking," Palo Verde point guard Eris Winder said. "We just had to make everything fast. We had to come back fast. There was no hesitation at all."

The Panthers turned those turnovers into 16 points as they rallied from a nine-point deficit.

Palo Verde (18-5) plays Centennial (24-3) in the semifinals at 8 p.m. today at Desert Oasis.

Clark (24-5) led 55-46 with 6:47 to go, but Winder's three-point play keyed the comeback.

"That changed the momentum," Winder said. "We really don't quit, so when we got down by nine, we were still thinking it was a tie game. So when I saw the ball, I just had to go get it. I have that heart."

Foul trouble usually hurts a team, but when Palo Verde's 6-foot-10-inch center, Michael Buchanan, picked up his fourth foul with 5:43 left in the third quarter, it may have provided the Panthers the spark they needed.

Forced to go with a smaller lineup, Palo Verde turned up the full-court pressure and took advantage of Clark's ball-handling woes.

"We knew we were going to go to it, it just had to be the right time," Palo Verde coach Jermone Riley said of the press. "And the right time was when Michael Buchanan picked up four personal fouls. We went in with a smaller lineup, and it worked to our advantage."

Clark led 59-57 when Nahjee Matlock penetrated and kicked to an open Darryl Gaynor, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Panthers up for good with 2:51 to play.

"We feed off each other," Riley said. "One guy penetrates, and we trust that the next guy can hit the shot."

Winder made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 45 seconds to seal the win. He finished with 28 points and five rebounds.

"He played incredible," Riley said. "That was his best game all year. He didn't take a possession off, he was enthused the entire game, and played under control."

Jordyn Martin added 14 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots for Palo Verde.

"Jordyn is so important to our team," Riley said. "If we need a stop, he can give us that. If we need a big rebound -- even at the end of the game he went up and got a huge rebound and a guy fell on his face, and that's who he is. Sometimes it doesn't show up in the stat sheet what he does and what he means to our team."

Kentrell Washington had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Clark, which was making its first postseason appearance since 2006.

■ Centennial 57, Spring Valley 55 -- At Centennial, Marcus Allen scored 21 points and Malcolm Allen 16 as the Bulldogs held off the Grizzlies.

Centennial led by nine in the fourth quarter before Shannon Nolan hit three 3-pointers to rally the Grizzlies (13-9).

Nolan finished with 18 points, all on 3-pointers. Sean Clancey had 10 points for Spring Valley.

■ Legacy 101, Durango 82 -- At Legacy, Zach Lane had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Cardon Harris added 24 points and eight rebounds as the Longhorns topped the Trailblazers.

Quincey Rhoads and Chris Cook each added 10 points for Legacy (20-7), which advances to meet Bishop Gorman (24-4) in a semifinal at 4:40 p.m. today at Desert Oasis.

Joe Tuss led Durango (16-10) with 19 points. Tyler Jones (17 points), Tre'Vonn Wells (16) and Tyler Watts (15) also scored in double digits.

■ Bishop Gorman 81, Cimarron-Memorial 41 -- At Gorman, Ben Carter had 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and the Gaels used a 30-11 third-quarter burst to eliminate the Spartans (15-12).

Shabazz Muhammad scored 23 and Rosco Allen 10 for Gorman.

Deijon Spillers led Cimarron with 11 points.