MOUNTAIN VIEW TOURNEY: Anderson leads Mountain View past Arizona school
With his team staring overtime in the face, Justyn Anderson wasn’t sure if he would score a layup or draw a foul.
But Mountain View’s sophomore point guard had no doubt he would at least get to the rim before time expired.
Anderson wound up going coast-to-coast for a game-winning layup with less than seven seconds remaining Monday night. His heroics gave the Saints a 48-46 win over River Valley (Ariz.), sending host Mountain View into the consolation title game of the fifth annual Vegas Invitational.
“When they scored, I just wanted to get the ball up the court as quickly as I could because I knew the defense wouldn’t be set,” Anderson said. “And I knew if I attacked, I would at least get fouled or a layup, and I made it.”
Anderson had 22 points, seven steals and four assists for Mountain View (7-2), which advanced to play Pahrump Valley in the consolation final at 5 p.m. today.
His game-winning layup came after River Valley’s Jesse Tonielli scored in transition moments earlier to tie the game at 46.
“I’ll never call a timeout in that situation knowing that (Anderson) will have the ball,” Mountain View coach Ray LeBoeuf said. “That puts more pressure on the defense than if we set up, which allows the defense to set up.
“He’s a heck of a player, and he proved it by finishing that play in that situation.”
Cortland LeBoeuf had eight points, eight rebounds and four steals for Mountain View, which also got six points and nine rebounds from Karl Benjamin.
“I can’t say enough about Karl Benjamin,” Ray LeBoeuf said of the junior forward, who had nine rebounds for the second straight game. “He’s maybe pushing 6 feet, but once again, nine rebounds today. He’s earned his way into a starting role. He plays like a 6-4 player.”
Tonielli scored 16 points to lead the Dust Devils, who got 14 from James Remmel and 11 from Alan Palesano.
River Valley shot just 11-for-25 from the free-throw line.
Taking the consolation title at their own tournament would be a breakthrough for the Saints, Anderson said.
“It would mean a lot going into the (league) season, seeing as it’s our tournament and we’ve never won a plaque or trophy or anything,” he said. “It’d be a great way to start our season and hopefully get some momentum that we’d be able to go to state or have a great season.”
In other games:
Brethren Christian (Calif.) 57, Tech 39 — The Warriors opened the second half on a 9-0 run before pulling away in the championship bracket semifinal.
Brethren Christian limited Tech to two 3-pointers after the Roadrunners hit seven in a 51-46 comeback win over Shadow Ridge on Saturday.
“Our 3s weren’t falling today, and I think them being physical with us was a great job on their part,” Tech coach Ward Griffith said. “They just pretty much out-toughed us.”
Michael Johnson had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead Tech, which shot an uncharacteristic 9-for-17 from the foul line and was held to single-digit scoring in the second and third quarters.
Brandon Tiffany added eight points and five assists for the Roadrunners, who will play for third place at 6:30 p.m. today.
Austin Wenger poured in 26 points to lead Brethren Christian, which was 14-for-18 at the free-throw line.
Trinity 64, Beatty 53 — Budweiser Hawkins led three double-figure scorers with 21 points to help the Thunder to the consolation win.
Avery Harden added 20 points and Gage Neuwohner 10 for Trinity.
Anthony Regalado had 22 points and Ramiro Hernandez scored 10 for the Hornets.
Agassi Prep 69, Spring Mountain 64 — The Stars were outscored 23-17 in the fourth quarter, but held on to win the consolation game.
Quincy Brown scored 25 points for Agassi Prep, which got 19 from Aerontay Shepherd, 11 from Vernon Curtis and 10 from Bryan Beaman.
Terence Green poured in 24 points for Spring Mountain, which got 16 from Davonte Sandifer.
Shadow Ridge 82, Needles (Calif.) 67 — Shadow Ridge shot 21-for-22 at the free-throw line on its way to a rout in the consolation game.
Zach Hafen scored 26 points for Shadow Ridge, which jumped to a 25-13 first-quarter lead. The Mustangs also had double-digit scorers in Greg Rebholz (20), Ronald Thomas (15) and Zach Duckworth (10).
Stevie Kidd scored 21 points for Needles, which got 16 from Darra Russell and 12 from Michael Hills.
Needles coach Jeff Plank was ejected late in the second quarter after picking up two technical fouls for arguing with officials.
Pahrump Valley 45, Calvary Chapel 40 — The Trojans rallied to win an ugly consolation game in which the teams combined for nearly half as many turnovers in the fourth quarter (13) as field goals in the game (31).
Marvin Weekly had 13 points and four steals to lead Pahrump Valley, which outscored Calvary Chapel 22-12 in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans rattled off five unanswered points in the final two minutes as part of a 7-2 run to close the game.
Mike Amburgey had 11 points and six rebounds for Pahrump Valley, which got six points, six rebounds and four steals from Tyler True.
Juliene Mejia had 13 points and four steals to lead the Lions. Tyler Moore added nine points and six rebounds, and Justin Cox had five points and six rebounds.
