VEGAS INVITATIONAL: Huerta helps Moapa Valley edge The Meadows

Moapa Valley boys basketball coach Dallas Larsen entered the Vegas Invitational hoping to gain some momentum before the start of play in the Division I-A Sunrise League.

As it turns out, the Pirates have even more than Larsen could have hoped for.

Senior guard Joe Bellavance scored the go-ahead basket with 32 seconds remaining, and Moapa Valley held off The Meadows 66-62 to take the consolation championship in the 12-team tournament at Mountain View.

The Pirates went 3-1 over the three-day event, and their only loss came to Buckley (Calif.), which defeated Layton Christian (Utah) 61-49 in the final. Lutheran South Academy (Texas) beat La Jolla Country Day (Calif.) 81-76 in the third-place game.

“Basically, I came to this tournament because we start league Monday,” Larsen said. “I told the boys, ‘Let’s see if we can get a little something rolling before league.’”

Bellavance finished with 15 points, all in the second half. Junior Andrew Huerta paced the Pirates with 21 points.

After cutting through the lane, Bellavance got to the rim and layed the ball in to put Moapa Valley (5-8) ahead 64-62. Eric Hirsberg had a chance to tie the game for The Meadows (10-4) with 12 seconds left, but his wing jumper didn’t fall, and Tyler Zobrist grabbed the rebound for the Pirates.

Justin Hughes then put the game away with two free throws with 8.7 seconds to go.

“We’ve had a hard time being consistent,” Larsen said. “We’ve played well at times, but these last four games we’ve been more consistent scoring and being better on defense. I think we figured out some man-to-man principles this last little bit.”

Hughes was a member of the all-tournament team and scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a corner 3-pointer that put the Pirates on top 49-39 early in the fourth quarter. Hughes shared time at point guard with J.R. Redd in the absence of starter Jeremy Waite, who was rested for the league opener against Boulder City after rolling his ankle in the morning victory over Chadwick (Calif.).

Hirsberg had 17 points for The Meadows, which came back from a 57-50 deficit to tie the game at 62 with 47.7 seconds left when Jake Epstein went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. Brandon Rufty added 16 points, and Epstein finished with 10 points.

“There’s fundamental things we’re not doing properly at the end of games,” said The Meadows coach Gary Hannig, referencing Friday’s one-point loss that cost the Mustangs a spot in the championship bracket. “We played hard. I thought the effort was good.

“We’re a good team. To be great, we’ve got to clean some things up.”

Huerta scorched The Meadows with four 3-pointers and had 16 of his points in the second quarter. Hirsberg nearly matched him and had 11 in the first half to help the Mustangs to a 33-29 halftime lead.

But the Pirates went on a 13-0 run after falling behind 35-29 early in the third quarter. Bellavance’s three-point play capped the run and gave Moapa Valley a 42-35 lead with 3:03 remaining in the third.

“Me and my assistant were talking on the bench about how we’ve found ways to lose games,” Larsen said. “At the end of the game a team would go to a 1-3-1 or a team would throw a half-court trap at us and we’d make a mistake. It’s nice to see the seniors stepping it up. They took control.”

Chadwick (Calif.) 61, Tech 48 — At Mountain View, Crawford Linden recorded 16 points in the Roadrunners’ loss to the Dolphins in the seventh-place game.

Elijah Robertson added 11 points for Tech.

The Dolphins led 29-21 at halftime, and Kevin Doi had seven of his team-high 11 points in the third quarter as they outscored Tech 17-10.

Jason Tsai had 10 points for Chadwick, which had 10 players score.

Capistrano Valley Christian (Calif.) 57, Mountain View 47 — At Mountain View, Trenton Van Kempen had a team-high 11 points, but the Saints lost to the Eagles in the ninth-place game.

Tevin Gray and Connor LeBoeuf added 10 points apiece for Mountain View, which led 19-18 at the half.

Peter Abramsky finished with 18 points, and Kci Thompson posted 13 points for Capistrano Valley Christian. Abramsky was 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter when the Eagles outscored Mountain View 22-15 to pull away.

Capistrano Valley Christian was 18-for-23 at the foul line, while the Saints missed eight of their 17 attempts.

Spring Mountain 48, Lake Mead 28 — At Mountain View, Devonte Richey finished with 17 points as the Golden Eagles overwhelmed the Eagles to finish in 11th place.

David Otuafi added 10 points for Spring Mountain, which led 20-8 at halftime and extended its advantage to 39-21 heading into the fourth quarter.

Brendon LeBaron led Lake Mead with 11 points.

The Meadows 57, Tech 48 — At Mountain View, Hirsberg and Rufty had 15 points apiece, and the Mustangs edged the Roadrunners in the consolation bracket.

Hirsberg had 11 of his points in the second half when The Meadows outscored Tech 32-25 to pull away. The Mustangs were 15-for-18 at the free-throw line a day after they missed 17 of 36 foul shots in a one-point loss to Layton Christian (Utah) during pool play.

Brian Fridman had nine points for The Meadows, and teammate Matt Biafore also scored nine, including a 6-for-6 showing at the foul line in the second half.

Robertson finished with a team-high 15 points for Tech. DeShawn Williams added 12 points, and Alfonso Sanchez-Guzman chipped in with 10 points for the Roadrunners.

Moapa Valley 76, Chadwick (Calif.) 69 — At Mountain View, Hughes had 17 of his 26 points in the first half, and the Pirates held off the hot-shooting Dolphins in the consolation bracket.

Huerta added 13 points for Moapa Valley.

Hughes scored 13 in the first quarter, helping the Pirates to a 38-31 halftime advantage.

Doi had all 20 of his points in the second half for Chadwick, which stayed close thanks to 11 3-pointers. Peter Mavredakis finished with 14 points, and Cole Freeman had 13 points for the Dolphins.