LV PREP CHAMPIONSHIP: Inconsistent Clark pulls out fifth straight win

For two quarters of Wednesday’s game against Arlington (Calif.), Clark boys basketball coach Chad Beeten watched his team play inspired ball.

However, the other two periods nearly left the third-year coach feeling flat.

“The first quarter and the third quarter, we gave up five and eight points, respectively,” Beeten said. “(The Lions) scored the other 40 points in the other two quarters. That’s not acceptable. To be as good as we want to be, we have to be better than that.”

Despite the Jekyll-and-Hyde performance, Clark benefited from a 20-point effort from Eastern Washington-bound guard Sir Washington to outlast the Lions 64-53 in the opening game of the Las Vegas Prep Championship.

The victory was the fifth in a row for the Chargers (11-1).

“A win is a win, I guess,” Beeten said. “I thought the second and fourth quarters were disappointing. One of our big focuses today was offense, especially in the halfcourt. I thought we did a really good job making sure everyone got touches and played inside and out.”

Clark charged to a 15-1 first-quarter advantage, creating plenty of second-chance opportunities. The Chargers held Arlington to two points in the paint in the first half.

“We’re always going to be bigger and more physical than every team out there,” Beeten said. “And even when we’re not, we want to play inside-out.”

Leaning heavily on guard Joshua Godwin, Arlington (8-4) cut the Chargers’ halftime lead to 30-21.

The junior, who finished with 15 points, connected on 4 of 6 3-point shots in the second quarter.

“They were all uncontested,” Beeten said. “We were being mentally lazy. That’s the hump that we’ve got to get over.”

After extending the lead to 49-29 heading into the final quarter, Clark’s perimeter defense struggled once again. The Lions used a 12-0 fourth-quarter spurt and two long 3-pointers to cut the deficit to seven points with just over a minute remaining. Malcolm Davis’ quick conversion in the paint with 48 seconds remaining cemented Clark’s victory.

“We were just lagging at the end,” Washington said. “You have to keep your game up tight.”

Diontae Jones had 15 points and five rebounds for the Chargers, and Davis chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Sunrise Mountain 76, Morningside (Calif.) 65 — Shmarlio Tolliver poured in 22 points, and the Miners went 31-for-44 from the free-throw line to down the Monarchs.

Jason Ford scored 14 points, and Jovon Kirtley chipped in 10 points for Sunrise Mountain.

Guy Baldwin paced Morningside with 16 points. 

Las Vegas 78, CedarBridge (Bermuda) 36 — Aziz Leeks led four double-figure scorers with 16 points, and the Wildcats stormed to a 57-12 halftime lead on their way to an easy win.

Leo Goodman added 14 points, and Juwan Major scored 11 for Las Vegas, which got 10 points from Roberto Zavala.

Buhach Colony (Calif.) 98, Mojave 88 — Joe Marquez recorded 31 points, and the Thunder outscored the Rattlers 19-9 in the overtime to roll to the victory.

Roger Klauser contributed 24 points, and Stephen Hillyer added 18 points for Buhach County.

Marcus Hines and Anthony Chapple each scored 17 points for Mojave, which got 14 points from Jai’Angelis Stevenson.
 
View Park (Calif.) 61, Liberty 47 — Luis Medearis registered 13 points, and Darryl McMillon added 10 points as the Knights raced past the Patriots.

Melvin Rushing had 15 points for Liberty, which trailed 34-21 at halftime.

Palmdale (Calif.) 56, Del Sol 40 — Marcus Foster tallied 21 points to help lift the Falcons over the Dragons.

Timothy Gilmore and Anthony Anderson each added 10 points apiece for Palmdale, which led 29-9 at halftime.

Noah Spearman led Del Sol with 12 points.

Eldorado 73, El Rancho (Calif.) 57 — D’Quan Crockett had 15 points, six rebounds and three steals to lead the Sundevils past the Dons.

Darrion Daniels registered 15 points, five rebounds and three steals for Eldorado, which took control early. Teammate D.J. Billingsley added 14 points.

Rick Islas led El Rancho with 15 points.

Legacy 88, Santee (Calif.) 39 — Donavon Gray scored 18 points to help the Longhorns rout the Falcons.

Fredrick Porter added 11 points for Legacy, which finished with 34 steals. Teammate Benjie Harris had five points and 10 steals.

Anthony Johnson scored 18 points to lead Santee, which committed 41 turnovers.

Sierra Vista 60, Palos Verdes (Calif.) 50  — Alec DeMarrias had 14 points and six rebounds vault the Mountain Lions past the Sea Kings.

Apollo Corley and Giovanni Santana added 11 points apiece for Sierra Vista, which pulled away midway through the fourth quarter.

Conor McKeeve led Palos Verdes with 18 points.

Valley 75, Hanford (Calif.) 56 — Ryan Johnson tallied 20 points, and Spencer Mathis scored 18 to lead the Vikings by the Bullpups.

Camron Burton added 10 points for Valley, which iced the game with a 24-10 third-quarter run.

Aaron Brown led Hanford with 11 points.

Cypress (Calif.) 54, Western 23 — Jalen Hall scored 16 points to help the Centurions roll past the Warriors.

Darion Murray scored 11 points to lead Western, which failed to score in the third quarter.