Rayshon Funches lifts Legacy past 6th-ranked Canyon Springs
A bad fourth quarter cost Legacy’s boys basketball team a chance to beat Canyon Springs the first time the teams met.
Rayshon Funches made sure that wouldn’t happen again.
Funches scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to help the Longhorns to an 80-61 road win over the sixth-ranked Pioneers on Thursday.
“He felt he needed to lead his team,” Legacy coach Jack Tarango said. “He came to me this morning talking about the game, talking about what he needed to do. And he’s doing what real leaders do. He’s getting information from me and he’s putting it out on the floor. And he did a great job of controlling the effort, controlling the game.”
Legacy (14-7, 6-2 Northeast League) led by six points points heading into the fourth quarter the first time the teams played Dec. 12, but Canyon Springs outscored the Longhorns 33-11 to win going away.
On Thursday, it was Legacy that pulled away down the stretch. The Longhorns held a 56-47 lead after three quarters, but held Canyon Springs (14-4, 5-2) to 5 of 15 shooting in the fourth quarter, and Funches did the rest.
He finished with seven rebounds, four assists, six steals and a blocked shot.
“It feels great, because we lost to them the first time,” Funches said. “And we knew we were going to come harder when we played them again.”
That effort started from the opening tip, as Legacy scored the game’s first six points and never trailed. The Longhorns led 24-13 after one quarter thanks in large part to sophomore Andrew Garcia, who scored 10 of his game-high 21 points. The slender, 5-foot-11-inch guard made his living driving to the hoop and either finishing or drawing fouls.
“He can shoot it all right from the outside, but his game is attacking the rim and scoring,” Tarango said.
“Offensively, he’s a spark plug for us usually every game.”
Shamir Chambers added 18 points, and Jalen Johnson came off the bench to contribute 11 points, four rebounds and three assists for Legacy.
Mervin Soares scored 10 of his 17 points in the second quarter for Canyon Springs, helping the Pioneers tie the game twice in the middle quarters.
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Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4597. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.
