SUNRISE BOYS: Davis duo lead attack for Pioneers; Valley knocks out Foothill

One brother led a first-half comeback. The other took care of things down the stretch.

Gerad Davis and Jordan Davis each had 19 points to lead Canyon Springs’ boys basketball team to a 67-64 win over Las Vegas in a Sunrise Region semifinal at Green Valley on Thursday.

“Coach (Freddie) Banks just told us don’t give up pretty much and just play hard like we always do, because we’re a second-half team,” said Gerad Davis, a junior forward, who scored eight points in the fourth quarter. “And we didn’t give up, and we got the W.”

Gerad Davis hit a runner in the lane with 2:25 left to break a 56-56 tie and put the Canyon Springs (17-10) up for good.

“Coach Banks just said 'Attack, attack,’ and that’s what I did,” said Gerad Davis, who also had nine rebounds and two blocked shots. “I saw the mismatch, and that’s what I took.”

The Pioneers looked to be on the verge of being blown out early, as Las Vegas (19-10) led 19-10 after one quarter. But two clock malfunctions led to a delay of several minutes and allowed Canyon Springs to regroup.

“When you settle your team down, everything will come,” Banks said. “We just tried to make them slow down and work on our offense and get some easy buckets.”

That’s where Jordan Davis came in. The sophomore guard scored 19 points in the first half to help the Pioneers rally and take a 37-33 halftime lead.

“My little brother came out and hit some big shots for us, and we just rode on his back,” Gerad Davis said.

Jordan Davis was 7-for-7 from the field in the half, including three 3-pointers.

“Me and him, we work on our shooting, but he takes it more serious than I do,” Gerad Davis said. “We both take it serious, but he just perfected it and fell in love with it.”

Jordan Davis was a late-season addition to the varsity roster, so late that he didn’t appear on the roster in the tournament program. But that didn’t stop him from having a huge impact on the team’s biggest game of the season.

“He’s going to be a hell of a ballplayer,” Banks said. “All he has to do is just concentrate and relax like I tell him.”

Chris Swanson scored seven of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Pioneers, who play Valley (21-8) in the Sunrise title game at 7 tonight at Green Valley.

“We’re still not the hottest team in town,” Banks said. “We’re just doing what we’re supposed to do.”
Aziz Leeks had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead Las Vegas, and Re’Kwon Smith scored 14 for the Wildcats.

Valley 62, Foothill 55 — Spencer Mathis hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:20 to play to give the Vikings the lead for good.

Mathis had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead Valley, and teammate Ryan Johnson scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half.

Cameron Burton had 10 assists for the Vikings.

Elijah Smith had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Falcons (22-6), who were 5-for-12 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.