BATTLE BORN: Silverado’s second-half blitz turns back Legacy
Silverado boys basketball coach Shelby Jones didn’t mince words with his players at halftime Saturday, with his team clinging to a one-point lead over Legacy.
“We look dead — emotionally, physically, everything!” Jones said.
The Skyhawks did a 180-degree turn in the second half to put their coach at ease. Silverado scored the first 11 points of the third quarter and entrusted the lead to its 2-3 zone defense in a 56-47 win over the Longhorns in the Battle Born Classic at Durango High.
“I thought we played hard,” Jones said. “And that’s where it all starts. We did a good job in our zone and taking the middle away from them. Last time we played them, I think they had 24 offensive rebounds and 30 points in the paint. …
“This is a good win. We’ve had misfortune all year, with eligibility and kids (being) sick and injuries. So any time you can beat a good team, you feel good about it.”
Caden Farley, who led all scorers with 15 points, made two 3-pointers right out of the break to give Silverado a 39-27 lead with 5:30 left in the quarter.
The defense, meanwhile, held Legacy scoreless until Tyrell Nolen hit 1 of 2 free throws with 3:56 to go. The Longhorns had only three field goals in the quarter.
“I don’t know if the (speech) had anything to do with it,” said Jones, whose team avenged a 74-70 loss to Legacy on Dec. 3. “I think they came together on their own and recognized it was a winnable game. They responded, and that’s the big thing.”
Martell Williams, a freshman, was the spark plug. The 6-foot-2-inch forward compiled 11 points and 17 rebounds and was a key player in the bottom half of the zone for the Skyhawks (9-11).
“He’s a good one,” Jones said. “He’s very talented. His thing is we’re just trying to get him focused and playing hard every night. When he learns to do that, he can be a special one. He was huge tonight. He controlled the backboard.”
Dajon Keeling added 12 points and four assists for Silverado, which won the rebound battle 40-26 and held Legacy to 30.9 percent shooting.
“Last time we played them, they got so many buckets inside,” Jones said. “We wanted them to shoot it from the outside. We liked our chances there and it worked out.”
D’Eric Marlowe had 11 points and six rebounds to lead Legacy (8-11).
Centennial 75, Durango 61 — Troy Brown scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half, and the Bulldogs rallied from an early 10-point deficit to defeat the host Trailblazers.
Isaiah Banks had 19 points, and Ishon Hardin scored nine for Centennial, which trailed 27-17 in the second quarter. Alijah Henderson hit a leaning 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer sounded to give the Bulldogs a 35-33 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Durango cut the lead to 52-48 with 6:45 left, but Brown nailed an uncontested 3 from the top of the key, and Banks hit an off-balance layup as Centennial pulled away.
Demetrius Valdez led Durango with 20 points. The 5-foot-10-inch senior hit four 3s in the first quarter to get the Trailblazers off to the strong start.
Anthony Hunter had 15 points, and Jeremie Portuondo added 13 points and nine rebounds for Durango.
Rancho 63, Coral Academy 60 — Trayvon Cotton-Taylor scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half as the Rams edged the Falcons.
Justin Holiday added 15 points, and Dayshawn Robinson scored 13 for Rancho, which outscored Coral Academy 19-16 in the fourth quarter.
Ryan Djino led Coral Academy with 19 points. Adam Abdalla had 14 points, and Isaiah Spears scored 10 for the Falcons.
Chaparral 47, Price (Calif.) 43 — John Brooks had 14 points, and the Cowboys started the third quarter on an 13-0 run to regain the lead and take control en route to the victory over the Knights.
Chaparral, which trailed 22-21 at halftime, took a 34-22 lead with 1:58 left in the third quarter and didn’t allow Price to score until the 1:41 mark. Kylyn Dirks hit a pair of free throws for the Knights’ first points of the second half.
Marcus Hilliard had 11 points, and Samuel Porras scored eight for Chaparral.
Dirks led Price with 13 points, and Ely Tom scored 10. Price pulled within 43-40 with 1:05 to go before Chaparral made consecutive buckets to pull away.
Elko 46, Cheyenne 26 — Eric Klekas had 16 points as the Indians topped the Desert Shields.
Kyrin Allen had 11 points, and Alex Klekas scored 10 for Elko, which led 18-3 after one quarter.
Dewayne Alexander scored seven points to lead Cheyenne.
Liberty 58, Lynwood (Calif.) 49 — Dyllan Robinson scored 16 points to power the Patriots past the Knights.
Jordan Holt added 15 points for Liberty, which outscored Lynwood 16-9 in the second quarter to tkae a 29-24 halftime lead.
Kieth Carlton led the Knights with 18 points, and teammate Jamal Bogan scored 14.