Winder propels Palo Verde win

After Palo Verde suffered two narrow losses to Centennial during the regular season, Eris Winder refused to let the teams' playoff game go down to the wire.

Winder scored 13 of his game-high 33 points during the first quarter as the Panthers built a big lead and exacted revenge with a 79-66 win over the Bulldogs in a Sunset Region boys basketball semifinal Thursday at Desert Oasis.

"We lost to them two times in league play, but we beat them when it counted most," said Winder, a 6-foot junior guard. "We said they can't do it three times. We decided to come out and play harder."

Palo Verde (19-5) built its lead as high as 23 points in the third quarter. Centennial (24-4) fought back to within eight in the closing seconds after a barrage of 3-pointers, but didn't really threaten.

Palo Verde plays Bishop Gorman (25-4) in today's 7 p.m. region championship at Desert Oasis, with the winner advancing to the state tournament.

"We've been in this position (playing Gorman) every year since I've been here," Palo Verde coach Jermone Riley said. "It's almost like you can write it. We know what we're up against. Great athletes, great school, a lot of fans. Our kids have faith. They know tomorrow isn't promised, but they know anything's possible. We've just got to play."

Riley said the key to beating Centennial was playing with high energy from the opening tip.

"We did a really good job coming out enthused and not playing in spurts. I think we played the entire game like there was no tomorrow and that was so important," Riley said. "We came out and got some early transition opportunities off steals and the rest was history. We held the lead the entire game."

Winder hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Panthers surged ahead.

"I knew I had to come out strong for us to get a big lead," he said. "Usually I come out and try to get my teammates involved and get my assist numbers up, but this game I just took the open shots."

Michael Buchanan supplied 16 points and 11 rebounds for Palo Verde, and Nahjee Matlock scored 12.

Neiman Lee scored 15 points for Centennial. Marshall Allen scored six of his 15 in the fourth quarter and brother Malcolm Allen had nine of his 14 in the period.

Winder said limiting the Allens' opportunities early was the key to victory.

"We learned how to stop the Allen brothers," he said. "Once we did that, it was a whole different game. We pressured them more and took away easy shots."

■ Bishop Gorman 73, Legacy 43 -- The Gaels got 15 points from Shabazz Muhammad and took control with a 19-0 run spanning the first and second quarters.

"It all started on the defensive end," Gorman coach Grant Rice said. "I was real happy with our defensive pressure in the first quarter. I think that led to some fast breaks and helped us on that big scoring run."

Demetris Morant was a major factor on both ends for Gorman, blocking eight shots and throwing down several highlight-reel dunks on his way to 11 points.

He finished a couple of alley-oop lobs from Gio Guzman, but Morant was particularly proud of a one-handed dunk from the wing over several Longhorns defenders, particularly Chris Hughes, who was called for a foul.

"My favorite one was the last one when I baptized the guy," he said with a laugh as he made the sign of the cross.

Guzman added seven assists.

Zach Lane led all scorers with 16 for Legacy (20-8) and Donovon Gray had all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.