Sierra Vista survives overtime thriller against Mojave

Mojave senior guard Daryl Adams delivered one of Southern Nevada's top performances of the season Thursday against Division I-A rival Sierra Vista.

It wasn't enough to down the spirited Mountain Lions.

Tanner Lewis scored five of his 13 points and hit three clutch free throws in the second overtime to spoil Adams' game-high 41 points and give Sierra Vista a thrilling 67-64 road win over the Rattlers.

"He's just an unbelievable athlete," Lewis said. "He's phenomenal. I thought it was nice to come on the road, win in double overtime and overcome a 40-point game. ... (At the end), I just had to clear my mind and think of nothing besides hitting those free throws. I had to take my time at the line and take deep breaths. I knew if we got those two, we'd be up by two (points) and didn't have to rush to score."

Lewis was fouled on a drive to the basket in the second overtime with the score tied at 64 and 12.7 seconds to go. The senior connected on both of his free throws to put the Mountain Lions up 66-64 and then converted one of two free throws two possessions later for the final margin.

Adams received the inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds but missed a half-court heave at the buzzer.

"It was great win because we were able to overcome a lot of adversity with our best player fouling out in (the first) overtime," Sierra Vista coach Keith Ulrich said, referring to sophomore guard Maka Ellis. "We were able to keep our composure and pass with our youth. We've melted down in moments like that, but we were able to keep our composure, and we made enough plays to win."

Adams scored 17 of his 41 points in the first half to put the Rattlers up 34-25 at the break. He finished 11 of 17 from the free-throw line and had nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough to down the Mountain Lions (3-1, 2-0 Sunset), who trailed for most of regulation.

"We didn't do a great job defending him," Ulrich said. "The plan was to help on him, and we didn't help enough. He's just a great player."

The regulation period ended tied at 51 after Chris McCoy blocked Adams' shot in the lane and Ellis missed an 8-foot jumper from the corner at the other end.

Both teams scored seven apiece in the first overtime but couldn't get a shot off at the end because of a scramble at midcourt. Adams had 10 of the Rattlers' 13 points in both overtimes but went 1 of 5 at the free-throw line after regulation.

Ellis, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, led Sierra Vista with 19 points before fouling out in the first overtime. Maui SeraJosef and McCoy each scored 10 apiece for the Mountain Lions.

Sierra Vista, which trailed 43-36 after three quarters, opened the fourth quarter on a 13-1 run to take a 49-44 lead with 2:57 left. Adam's 3-pointer from the wing ended the onslaught and sparked the Rattlers' 7-2 run to end the quarter.

Richard Edwards had six points and 11 rebounds for Mojave (2-3, 0-1).

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson