MOUNTAIN VIEW TOURNEY: Tech stumbles in third-place game

After trailing Buckley School (Calif.) by five points at halftime and entering the fourth quarter, Tech was only a couple of plays away from rallying for a second dramatic win in three games.

But those plays never came Tuesday night, and the Roadrunners fell to the Griffins 47-39 in the third-place game of the fifth annual Vegas Invitational at Mountain View.

“When we did cut it close there, (Buckley) made plays to get the lead back up and hold on to the game,” Tech coach Ward Griffith said.

“Looking at all the guys’ faces, everybody’s disappointed. We came here to win a championship. That was our goal, and we fell short of it.”

Tech (3-4) finished fourth among 16 teams, the highest finish of any local team.

Sophomore forward Michael Johnson had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Tech. The Roadrunners also got nine points and seven assists from Brandon Tiffany, who was named to the all-tournament team.

Johnson scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half.

Griffith said Johnson, who started as a freshman, has benefited from expanding his perimeter game over the summer.

“I think Michael Johnson is going to be a big-time player in this city,” Griffith said. “A couple years from now, everybody will know Michael Johnson’s name.”

All-tourney selection Andrew Farhadi had 21 points to lead the Griffins, who also got eight apiece from Jake Brodsky and Ryan Norris. Buckley School was 12-for-16 at the free-throw line.

“I think when it came down to it, it was just the difference of them making shots and making plays,” Griffith said. “They made shots when they were open, and they made plays down the stretch.”

In other games:
Pahrump Valley 55, Mountain View 41 — The Trojans held the Saints to single-digit scoring in every quarter but the second on their way to winning the consolation championship.

Pahrump Valley succeeded with a 2-3 zone defense designed to counter Mountain View’s guard play, Trojans coach Lonnie Shereck said.

Mike Amburgey had 22 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots to lead Pahrump Valley. The Trojans also got 12 points and two steals from all-tourney selection Marvin Weekly, and Tyler True added seven points and seven assists.

Shereck, though, was disappointed with his team’s 26 turnovers Monday and 19 Tuesday.

“We got pretty lucky because the last two days, we didn’t play well at all,” he said. “Moving to (Class) 4A, we play Bishop Gorman, Sierra Vista and Western next week, so it’s going to be a little bit tougher. It’s nice to win some games, though.”

Justyn Anderson had 20 points and two steals to pace Mountain View, which was only 3-for-10 at the foul line. Karl Benjamin had four points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Saints, who got seven points and three steals from Cortland LeBoeuf.

Shadow Ridge 48, Kingsburg (Calif.) 43 — Zach Hafen had a reverse layup and was 4-for-4 at the free-throw line in the final two minutes to lift the Mustangs to the consolation win.

All-tourney selection Hafen scored 21 points and Greg Rebholz 10 for Shadow Ridge, which is a combined 32-for-39 at the foul line in its past two games.

Trinity 53, Agassi Prep 50 — Budweiser Hawkins had two crucial field goals in the final minute — including a go-ahead baseline jump shot — to seal the consolation win for the Thunder.

Hawkins poured in 33 points to lead Trinity, which withstood Agassi Prep’s 14-9 edge in the fourth quarter. Avery Harden added 12 for the Thunder.

Quincy Brown led Agassi Prep with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Aerontay Shepherd had 12 points and three assists for the Stars, who also got nine points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots from Dimitri Amos.

The game saw four lead changes in the final four minutes.

River Valley (Ariz.) 48, Calvary Chapel 39 — The Lions were held to 40 or fewer points for the second straight game in losing the consolation contest.

Brandon Corbitt and Dario Rahming scored 11 points apiece and Juliene Mejia had 10 for Calvary Chapel, which was outscored 17-4 in the third quarter.

Alan Palesano and James Remmel scored 14 points each for the Dust Devils.

Needles (Calif.) 65, Clovis North (Calif.) 53 — Aaron Burns scored 17 points and Stevie Kidd 15 to help the Mustangs to the consolation victory.

Beatty 54, Spring Mountain 53 — The Hornets scored five points in the final 10 seconds to escape with the consolation win.

Beatty swingman Anthony Regalado hit a 3-pointer and came away with a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass before assisting Jacob Sumpter for the game-winning layup.

The Hornets had four players score in double figures — Regalado (17), Sumpter (11), Ramiro Hernandez (11) and Kyle Marchand (10).

Terence Green had 22 points and Davonte Sandifer 11 for Spring Mountain, which was outscored 28-12 in the fourth quarter.

Brethren Christian (Calif.) 66, Bishop’s (Calif.) 62 — Austin Wenger scored 24 points to lead the Warriors to the win in the tournament title game.

Tourney MVP Jeff Jefferson added 15 points for Brethren Christian.

All-tourney pick Malik Love scored 20 points for the Knights.