HOLIDAY CLASSIC: Adelson School boys make early statement

Adelson School went undefeated in Division IV Southern League play last season.

It looks as if the Lions could be the team to beat in small-school boys basketball again this season.

Adelson School stormed to a 11-4 first-quarter lead and forced 19 turnovers in the game, including 12 steals, to rout Southern Australia 65-40 on Friday in a consolation game in the Lake Mead Holiday Classic at Lake Mead.

“I liked our intensity,” Lions coach Rob Blackwell said. “We understood how hard we needed to play today from start to finish. I was really pleased with the effort from my guys today.”

Adelson School forced 12 first-half turnovers and limited Southern Australia to 29 percent from the field to take a 34-16 halftime lead.

“That’s the way we practice,” Blackwell said. “Our emphasis is to get deflections and play at a fast rate. We want to pressure the basketball and contest every shot.”

The Lions did just that, consistently making it tough for Southern Australia to move the ball effectively.

Sophomore Jake Buchman led all scorers with 21 points and added six rebounds and three steals, and freshman Miles Hagan had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Lions, who returned almost every player from a season ago, also got 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals from Rom Izkovich, the Southern League Most Valuable Player last season.

“He plays extremely hard on defense,” Blackwell said. “And he’s unbelievably unselfish. We look forward to his leadership the rest of the year.”

Dom Moran scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead Southern Australia.

Adelson School (2-2) plays Moapa Valley (2-1), a Division I-A school, at 2 p.m. today in a consolation game. It will be the fourth time this season the Lions have played an opponent outside their division.

Blackwell thinks that will help when league play starts.

“It helps to create and build confidence,” Blackwell said. “When you have a chance to play against these schools (in larger enrollments), we have to bring it. We get a taste of it, and we hope (the confidence) carries over.”

Boulder City 50, Calvary Chapel 42 — Tyler Newby had a team-high 15 points to lead the Eagles by the Lions.

Trenton Carmell added 13 points for Boulder City, which led 24-20 at halftime.

Matthew Harney had 15 points, and Killian Diers scored 11 for Calvary Chapel.

West Wendover 52, Lake Mead 51 — Zade Elton had 14 points, and Adrian Zamora added 13 points as the Wolverines edged the Eagles.

Dylan Graham had a game-high 17 points for Lake Mead, which got nine points apiece from Brendon LeBaron and Garion Glenn.

Fernley 57, Calvary Chapel 47 — Zach Burns made five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points to lift the Vaqueros over the Lions.

Kevin Montgomery (18 points) and Dominic Ceresola (11 points) also contributed for Fernley, which trailed 25-23 at halftime.

Cameron Varela led Calvary Chapel with 13 points, and Diers scored 10.

Lutheran (Calif.) 49, Lake Mead 40 — The Knights stormed out to a 28-14 halftime lead and held on to defeat the Eagles.

LeBaron led Lake Mead with 10 points.

Moapa Valley 71, Southern Australia #2 49 — Nate Cox scored a game-high 21 points to lead Pirates by Southern Australia.

Dalton Gordon had 11 points, and teammate Koby Frei added nine points for Moapa Valley, which led 55-41 after three quarters.

The Meadows 64, Boulder City 48 — Asheesh Chopra led three double-figure scorers with 20 points to send the Mustangs past the Eagles.

Max Hisatake had 15 points, and Jake Epstein scored 14 for The Meadows, which outscored Boulder City 41-25 in the second half.

Zach Murphy notched 14 points for the Eagles.