TIP-OFF CLASSIC: Aggies top Sierra Vista to capture bracket championship

It took more than 20 minutes for the Arbor View boys basketball team to take the lead Saturday.

Justin Burks and Terrell Butler made sure the Aggies didn’t lose it.

Burks and Butler combined for 52 points, and Arbor View pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Sierra Vista 70-61 in the championship game of the Legacy Tip-Off Classic.

Wasatch Academy (Utah) downed Legacy 83-50 in the Financial Bracket title game.

“It’s a great start to the season, winning the first tournament we’re in and being able to live up to expectations,” Arbor View coach Kyle Hageness said. “The kids have a target on their back, and everybody is ready when Arbor View comes, so to come through is a big deal for our program.”

Burks, who signed with UC Santa Barbara, finished with 30 points and nine rebounds. He scored 12 points in the third quarter, and his 3-pointer with 3:18 left in the third gave the Aggies (5-0) their first lead at 47-44.

“I felt like my team needed me, so I stepped up and knocked down a few shots,” Burks said. “I tried to create for myself and got good looks.”

Butler, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, had 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. His three-point play with 4:55 to play put the Aggies up 57-50, and he was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 49.3 seconds.

Isaiah Simmons had 15 rebounds for Arbor View, which took control with an 18-6 second-half run and led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter.

“Terrell stepped up and had a huge game for us and made some big free throws down the stretch,” Hageness said. “It takes a lot of the pressure off Justin to have another guy like Terrell play well.”

Mikko Balmes paced the Mountain Lions (4-1) with 20 points but was held to two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the second half. Apollo Corley added 15 points, and Nino Flores had 12 points.

“He killed us in the second quarter,” Hageness said of Balmes. “We just told the kids to stay with it and keep a hand in his face. Fortunately, the law of averages caught up with us.”

Balmes scored 13 points in the second quarter, and Sierra Vista led 38-35 at halftime as the Aggies missed nine of their first 16 free throws. But the Mountain Lions shot 32 percent (9-for-28) from the field in the second half and were limited to eight points in the third quarter.

“We need to do a better job handling adversity when we’re not making shots,” Mountain Lions coach Keith Ulrich said. “We weren’t balanced like we need to be. We have to have five guys score, and we didn’t have it.”

Wasatch Academy (Utah) 83, Legacy 50 — At Legacy, Jacob Rainey scored 12 points for the Longhorns, who were overwhelmed by the Tigers in the championship game of the Financial Bracket.

Deshaun Hilliard and Christian Solis added nine points apiece for Legacy.

John Cody led the Tigers with 23 points. Koby McEwen, the bracket’s Most Valuable Player, finished with 19 points.

Mojave 63, Clovis East (Calif.) 61 — At Legacy, Omar Federico and Lorenzo Guerrero each scored 12 points, and the Rattlers rallied from a 33-21 halftime deficit to beat the Timberwolves in the third-place game of the Financial Bracket.

Darryl Adams had 11 points for Mojave, which outscored Clovis East 19-9 in the fourth quarter.

Lavell Smith led the Timberwolves with 29 points, and Dylan Eamigh added 19 points.

Sierra Vista 56, Tamanawis (Canada) 45 — At Legacy, Mikko Balmes had 15 points to lead the Mountain Lions to victory in pool play.

Sukh Bains had 16 points for Tamanawis.

Legacy 75, Mojave 53 — At Legacy, Deshaun Hilliard led four double-figure scorers with 16 points as the Longhorns topped the Rattlers in a bracket semifinal.

Christian Solis added 14 points, and Jalen Glover scored 11 for Legacy, which got 10 points from Shakir Arrey.

Omar Federico had 12 points for Mojave. Kemario Wiiliams added 11 points, and Malik Abbott scored 10 for the Rattlers.

Cimarron-Memorial 61, Virgin Valley 57 — At Legacy, Amani Gill led a balanced attack with 13 points as the Spartans edged the Bulldogs.

Terrell Walker had 12 points, and Justin Lewis scored 11 for Cimarron, which trailed 29-27 at the half.

Garrett Leavitt had 18 points, and Dee Bowler added 11 points for Virgin Valley.

Cimarron-Memorial 76, Thurgood Marshall (Calif.) 61 — At Legacy, Gill poured in 23 points, and the Spartans outscored the Phoenix, 32-14 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

Tony Harrison had 17 points, and Austin Garrison scored 14 for Cimarron, which got 10 points from Kyle Skurow.

Jason Smith led Thurgood Marshall with 29 points.

Faith Lutheran 64, Desert Oasis 49 — At Legacy, Clayton Holthaus and Michael Holthus each had 14 points, and the Crusaders used a 34-19 burst in the middle two quarters to down the Diamondbacks.

Kodi Leslie had 15 points for Desert Oasis.

Lowry 77, Rancho 54 — At Legacy, Josh Watterson had 16 points to lead the Buckaroos past the Rams.

Calvin Connors added 12 points for Lowry, which led 41-22 at the half.

Lamont Traylor had 15 points, and David McKeever scored 14 for Rancho, which got 10 points from Kenneth Smith.