LEGACY TIP-OFF: Reserves power Longhorns to victory

Legacy’s boys basketball team is only two games into its season, but that didn’t stop Longhorns coach Jack Tarango from sending a message Thursday.

Tarango sat all five of his starters midway through the third quarter, and the reserves carried the host Longhorns the rest of the way in a 53-42 victory over Canyon View (Utah) to open the Legacy Tip-Off Classic.

Legacy (2-0) will face Lutheran (Colorado) in a quarterfinal matchup at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Legacy.

“I think Canyon View played well,” Tarango said. “I thought they took us out of a lot of what we wanted to. We’re going to have to go back into the think-tank and try to do some things a little differently. I appreciate a game like that. I think it can wake us up in a lot of ways.”

D’Eric Marlowe led Legacy with 14 points, and Jordan Cineus came off the bench to score eight of his 11 points after halftime.

The Longhorns led by 15 points at the break before Canyon View closed to within 32-26. Following a series of turnovers, Tarango yanked his five starters and inserted Jayvon Lewis, Denzil Dixon, Cineus, Ma’Leal Foster and Clarion Springer with 4:35 left in the third.

Cineus hit back-to-back 3-pointers as part of an 8-0 run, and his leaner with 6:46 remaining in the fourth quarter pushed Legacy’s lead to 47-32.

The Longhorns’ reserves scored 15 of the team’s 25 second-half points.

“I wasn’t pleased with the way we were playing the game, especially after talking to them at halftime,” Tarango said. “I gave them some instructions, and it just didn’t happen the way I wanted. So, I put in five others that played a little bit better to the style we were looking for. I thought from there on, we had a little bit better control.”

Legacy held the Falcons scoreless for the opening 4:35 and led 13-8 after the first quarter.

Canyon View went nearly five minutes without scoring in the second quarter as the Longhorns closed the half on a 15-4 run to take a 28-15 advantage.

“I was (pleased) with the defense. I thought it was good,” Tarango said. “The offense struggled a little bit and we tried to make some adjustments, and in that third quarter, those adjustments weren’t made the way I wanted them.”

Lutheran (Colo.) 67, Green Valley 64 — Eric Johnson poured in 25 points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Gators from falling to the Lions in overtime.

Canyon Lewis had 16 points, and Matthew Tuttle scored 13 for Green Valley, which led 63-60 in the fourth quarter before Tyler Essegian nailed the tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Essegian finished with 18 points, including 14 in the second half for Lutheran.

Silverado 75, Robert Bateman (Canada) 58 — Martell Williams had 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second quarter to lead Skyhawks to a victory over the Timberwolves.

Marcus Strawberry added 14 points, and Wesley Bryan scored 11 for Silverado, which led 37-19 at halftime.

Bryan made three of the Skyhawks’ 10 3-pointers.

Nate Friesen led Robert Bateman with 27 points.

Clovis East (Calif.) 57, Mojave 44 — Jaylen Johnson scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half, and the Timberwolves downed the Rattlers.

J.D. McCormick had 11 points for Mojave, which got as close as 33-26 early in the third quarter.

Shawno Roberts added 11 points, as nine players scored for Clovis East.

Centennial 65, Valley 19 — Troy Brown finished with 16 points with Oregon coach Dana Altman in attendance, and the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Vikings.

Brown, an Oregon signee, had 12 points in the first half to help Centennial take a 35-10 lead at the break.

Darian Scott and Ishon Hardin each had 13 points for the Bulldogs.

Tommy Anderson, Juan De Dios-Magana and Shakore Parish had four points apiece to lead Valley.

Knight (Calif.) 64, Shadow Ridge 48 — James Fuller had 13 points in the Mustangs’ loss to the Hawks.

Isaiah Williams added nine points for Shadow Ridge, which trailed 15-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Dajour Lewis dropped in a game-high 26 points to lead Knight. Jordan Escamillo-Brown and Jah-son Reyes each finished with 10 points for the Hawks.

Clark 82, Coral Academy 64 — The Chargers topped the Falcons, and earned a bye into the tournament semifinals.

Clark will play at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday. The Chargers will face the winner of Friday’s game between Legacy and Lutheran (Colorado).

Isaiah Spears led Coral Academy with 28 points.