LAKE MEAD CLASSIC: Eagles find enthusiasm, move into tourney final
The first two quarters of Friday night’s game were nothing short of strenuous for Lake Mead boys basketball coach Jeff Newton.
Planted in a tight back-and-forth battle with Fernley for most of the first half, the Eagles coach was waiting for his team to show some enthusiasm.
“I was real disappointed with our lackluster performance concerning emotions,” Newton said. “It wasn’t that they weren’t playing hard, they were just very passive and complacent.”
The Eagles took the pep talk to heart.
Under the direction of point guard Justin Yamzon, Lake Mead fought off the Vaqueros 61-42 in a semifinal of the Lake Mead Holiday Classic.
The Eagles will play Bishop Gorman’s junior varsity in the championship game Saturday at 2 p.m.
“It feels good to get back in the championship,” Yamzon said. “I think we just have to come out with that intensity from the start and not wait so long to make it a game.”
Yamzon, who had nine of his 28 points in the first quarter, directed Lake Mead to an 11-4 run to end the quarter. However, Fernley used its own 11-4 swing to take a 27-24 advantage into halftime.
“I felt we played 14 minutes of emotionless ball,” Newton said. “To that point, I didn’t think we had played to a lot of emotions. Our kids have been in the gym all day and it kind of shows.”
The Eagles, though, found their second wind at the start of the third quarter.
Yamzon sparked Lake Mead to two lengthy runs in the second half, including a 16-8 spurt to end the third. The Eagles outscored Fernley 19-2 in the fourth quarter.
“We extended the pressure more,” Newton said. “As always, the kids feed off of the pressure. It just energizes them. It’s also a compliment to the hard work, as far as conditioning, because that was a grueling game.”
Yamzon, a senior who was double-teamed on several occasions, shot 5 of 12 from 3-point range.
Yamzon helped reestablish the transition game by scoring seven points in just a shade over two minutes in the fourth quarter.
“We got a sense of trust to where we can move and recover,” Yamzon said. “I think our defense really helped us out there. When we opened up and started running, it opened some lanes for us and started giving us advantages.”
Dylan Graham added 13 points, and Caleb Pittman had eight points and eight rebounds for the Eagles. Lake Mead was 13-for-16 from the free-throw line.
Tim Klotz led Fernley with 10 points.
Bishop Gorman JV 57, Boulder City 53 — Chase Noma’aea had 22 points as the Gaels’ junior varsity earned a spot in the final by edging the Eagles.
Kaleb Bailey led Boulder City with 24 points.
Lake Mead 58, Beaver Dam (Ariz.) 27 — Yamzon had 21 points and hit five 3-pointers for the Eagles.
Pittman added eight points for Lake Mead, which commanded a 34-16 halftime lead.
The Meadows 35, Pahranagat Valley 30 — The Mustangs used a 9-0 run in the first quarter to jump ahead of Pahranagat, which kept the game within reach until the fourth quarter.
Brian Fridman led The Meadows with nine points, and the Mustangs went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Tyler Higbee scored 19 points for the Panthers, who suffered a nearly nine-minute scoring drought to start the game.
Bishop Gorman JV 62, Pahranagat Valley 36 — Noma’aea was one of three Bishop Gorman JV scorers in double-figures with 17 points.
Deon Whiteside had 13 points and Tanner Leishman added 12 for the Gaels.
Shawn Wadsworth led the Panthers with 15 points.
Boulder City 65, The Meadows 47 — Bailey scored 24 points and was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to lift Boulder City. Michael Kelso and Blake Worrall chipped in eight points each for the Eagles.
Branden Rufty had 11 points for The Meadows.
Calvary Chapel 58, Beaver Dam (Ariz.) 48 — Matthew Harney had 25 points, and Drew Hammond scored 11 to pace the Lions.
Calvary Christian (Calif.) 66, Calvary Chapel 50 — The Lions fell behind 36-27 at the half and couldn’t recover.
Hammond had 23 points to pace Calvary Chapel.
Bishop Gorman JV 65, Pahrump Valley 44 — Noma’aea scored 16 points, and Ugo Amadi had 13 points to power the Gaels past Pahrump.
Dalton Beighley scored 18 points for the Trojans.
GIRLS
Calvary Chapel 59, Indian Springs 31 — Chloe Hammond had 22 points to help the Lions top the Thunderbirds.
Lianne Reyes added 17 points, and Phallen Nelson scored 10 for Calvary Chapel.
Pahrump Valley 34, Beaver Dam (Ariz.) 21 — Kayla Skilling and Alyssa Murphy each had nine points to pace the Trojans.
Lake Mead 52, Calvary Christian (Calif.) 39 — Taylor Badua-Kono and Taylor Vetter each had 16 points to lead the Eagles.
Shannon Regan added 11 points for Lake Mead.
The Meadows 33, Bishop Gorman JV 30 — Anjali Daulat and Missy Siegel each scored 10 points to lead the Mustangs over the Gaels’ junior varsity.
Pahrump Valley 38, Lake Mead 35 — Murphy scored 10 points to lead the Trojans over the Eagles.
Badua-Kono scored 17 for Lake Mead.
Indian Springs 49, Bishop Gorman JV 45 — Victoria Carpenter scored 13 points to lead the Thunderbirds over the Gaels’ junior varsity.
