LEGACY TIP-OFF CLASSIC: Jackson steps up in fourth, leads Clark boys past Centennial

Colby Jackson didn’t play up to his usual high standards during the Clark basketball team’s first three games of the season, and Chargers coach Chad Beeten let his senior point guard know it.

Jackson responded with a strong outing Saturday night.

Jackson drove the lane for a key basket with 48 seconds remaining, and Clark held off hard-charging Centennial 68-66 in the third-place game of the Legacy Tip-Off Classic. Wasatch Academy (Utah) beat Villa Park (Calif.) 57-37 in the championship game.

“He hasn’t played that well this week, but in his defense, he’s only had about three practices so far,” Beeten said. “He’s had an injury-plagued season so far. He’s just getting his timing back … but he was finally good today, and that’s what we need out of him.”

Jackson scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and repeatedly hurt Centennial with dribble penetration. Carter Olsen led Clark (3-1) with 21 points.

The game was tied 63-63 with 2:03 remaining after Darrian Traylor’s driving layup for Centennial, but the defending Division I-A state champion Chargers scored five straight points to knock off one of the top teams in Division I.

Deshawn Wilson added 10 points for Clark, and teammate Keyshaun Webb had nine points and four rebounds to earn Beeten’s praise afterward.

“This is the kind of game you want to play in this part of the season,” Beeten said, “to finish a game like that against a really good team that is going to be murder in another few weeks when coach (Todd) Allen gets them going.”

Traylor had 25 points to lead Centennial (4-2), and Troy Brown scored 14 in the second half to go with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Allen said several members of the team arrived 20 minutes late after the Bulldogs’ semifinal loss to Wasatch Academy (Utah), and none of Centennial’s regular starting five was on the floor to open the game. Clark jumped to a 10-1 and led by as many as 17 points in the first half.

Centennial chipped away at the deficit in the second half and tied the game 61-61 with 2:37 remaining when Brown found Garett Scheer (eight points) wide open along the baseline for a layup that capped a 9-0 run.

“We got a good, gritty win against a good team that’s got their best basketball ahead of them,” Beeten said.

Faith Lutheran 56, Spring Valley 41 — Blake Bell had 17 points, and the Crusaders defeated the Grizzlies in the consolation bracket final.

Jaylen Fox added 11 points for Faith Lutheran, which jumped out to a 15-5 lead after the first quarter.

Travis Walton led Spring Valley with 15 points, and teammate Ben Sison scored 11.

Wasatch Academy (Utah) 73, Centennial 50 — Brown finished with 20 points in the Bulldogs’ semifinal loss to the Tigers.

Cody John made four 3-pointers and finished with 29 points to lead Wasatch Academy, the two-time defending Utah 2A state champion. Koby McEwen added 26 points as Wasatch Academy’s backcourt proved too much to handle.

Centennial was outscored 41-17 in the middle two quarters after the teams were tied 15-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Scheer added 18 points for the Bulldogs.

Villa Park (Calif.) 66, Clark 58 — Deshawn Wilson had 20 points, but the Chargers couldn’t overcome a poor third quarter and lost to the Spartans in the semifinals.

Colby Jackson and Darius Jackson each finished with 12 points for Clark, and teammate Keyshaun Webb scored 11.

Clark trailed 30-27 at halftime but was outscored 20-11 in the third quarter.

Kevin Olsen had 22 points and four of Villa Park’s eight 3-pointers, and teammate Cedric Thomas had 11 of his 18 points in the second half.

Clovis East (Calif.) 62, Mojave 48 — Jordan Glenn scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half, but the Rattlers fell to the Timberwolves.

Melvin Irvey and Malik Abbott each had eight points for Mojave, which fell behind 18-9 in the first quarter and never recovered.

Lavell Smith led Clovis East with a game-high 27 points.

Clovis East (Calif.) 78, Legacy 67 — Christian Solis had 20 of his 23 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as the host Longhorns lost to the Timberwolves.

Jacob Rainey added 17 points, and Brody Olenslager scored 11 for Legacy.

The game was tied at 54 after three quarters before Clovis East outscored the Longhorns 24-13 in the final stanza.

Isaac Acevedo had 29 points and made five of the Timberwolves’ 10 3-pointers. Trey Semien added 21 points, and Lavell Smith had 15 points for Clovis East.

Legacy 68, Sierra Vista 49 — Shakir Arrey and Solis each had 12 points to lead the host Longhorns past the Mountain Lions.

Arrey had 10 points in the second half as Legacy pulled away. Solis made four of Legacy’s 10 3-pointers, and teammate Jacob Rainey added 11 points.

Randal Grimes and Chaise Smitheach scored 11 points to lead Sierra Vista. Maui SeraJosef supplied 10 points for the Mountain Lions.

Spring Valley 48, Virgin Valley 43 — Jalen Cannon finished with 12 points, and the Grizzlies rallied from a 10-point deficit after three quarters to defeat the Bulldogs.

Sison had nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter as Spring Valley outscored the Bulldogs, 22-7.

Marcus Saunders notched 17 points for Virgin Valley, which used a 17-7 third-quarter run to grab a 36-26 advantage.

Lowry 57, Virgin Valley 43 — Saunders had 11 points, but the Bulldogs faded in the second half and lost to the Buckaroos.

Cody Burnside added nine points for Virgin Valley, which led 23-18 at halftime but couldn’t hang on.

Nathan Lutzow finished with a game-high 18 points, and Jared Taylor scored 17 for Lowry, which outscored the Bulldogs 18-7 in the fourth quarter.

Mojave 63, Sierra Vista 47 — Abbott had 22 points, and Glenn scored 15 to lift the Rattlers past the Mountain Lions.

Mojave finished 26-for-33 from the free-throw line, including a 14-for-17 showing in the fourth quarter.

Maka Ellis led Sierra Vista with 18 points. Chaise Smith, Jasper Cook and Dominique Marcy all had eight points for the Mountain Lions.

Faith Lutheran 42, Lowry 32 — Bell had 13 points, and the Crusaders overcame a slow start to top the Buckaroos.

Faith Lutheran trailed 15-4 after the first quarter and was down by five points at halftime but outscored Lowry 25-10 in the second half. Fox and Zach Friel had eight points apiece for the Crusaders.

Churchill County 58, Sunrise Mountain 44 — Damon Heard scored a game-high 20 points in the Miners’ loss to the Greenwave.

Trellis Quinn added 13 points for Sunrise Mountain.

Churchill County led 31-28 after three quarters but outscored the Miners 27-16 in the fourth to pull away. Bradlee Stands led the Greenwave with 16 points, and teammate Jeff Evett scored 15.

Robert Bateman (Canada) 65, Sunrise Mountain 55 — Heard had 25 points in the Miners’ loss to the Timberwolves.

Quinn added 13 points for Sunrise Mountain.

Nate Friesen led Robert Bateman with 19 points, and teammate Matt Keis scored 16.

Coral Academy 68, Robert Bateman (Canada) 21 — Isaiah Buck had 20 points, and Brennan Rosales added 16 points as the Falcons routed the Timberwolves.

Rosales had four of Coral Academy’s nine 3-pointers.

Coral Academy 52, Churchill County 29 — Kaleb Robinson and Isaiah Spears finished with 12 points apiece to lift the Falcons past the Greenwave.

Coral Academy outscored Churchill County 26-9 in the second half to blow open what had been a close game.

Jeff Evett led the Greenwave with 17 points.