Faith Lutheran finds answer

So his answer was simple: Attack.

The Crusaders attacked the basket against the Jaguars’ aggressive full-court pressure and capitalized on opportunities Thursday en route to an 80-70 win in the Vegas Valley Invitational at Durango.

“I think it was good to be aggressive,” Walter said. “We just didn’t want to settle for a jumper. We wanted to attack the basket when we could.”

Faith Lutheran showed that strategy early, pushing the ball in transition and getting it inside to center Diontea Wright. The 6-foot-4-inch Wright responded with a game-high 23 points, including a pair of big dunks.

Wright also had 14 rebounds and a blocked shot.

“Diontea’s done a very good job, and we want him to continue to battle in there,” Walter said. “And he’s really come along with his shooting, too.”

Wright showed the ability to knock down the midrange jumper, then highlighted his range by hitting a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to help stop a Desert Pines run.

The Jaguars went on a quick 5-0 spurt to cut the lead to 66-60 with 4:51 to play, but Wright hit his 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.

Conner Maloney also had a big game for the Crusaders, finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Most of those assists went to Wright, who was able to match Desert Pines’ athleticism with his quickness and jumping ability.

Junior Chase Saunders also had a strong game off the bench, scoring 14 points and coming up with a pair of key first-half steals.

“The Saunders kid is really coming along,” Walter said. “This is the best he’s played. He’s very athletic and attacks the basket and finishes pretty well.”

Finishing is something Desert Pines didn’t do well. The Jaguars were 28-for-79 from the field (35.4 percent), which helped Faith Lutheran stay in the game despite turning the ball over 25 times.

C.J. Myles led the Jaguars with 19 points, and Reggie Shaw and Cliff Harrell each had 14.

• Green Valley 64, Shadow Ridge 54 — Cody Aughney had 17 points to lead the Gators over the Mustangs.

Julian Franklin added 16 points and Jose Rodriguez 12 for Green Valley, which led 41-33 after three quarters.

Shadow Ridge’s Josh Berkley led all scorers with 25 points.

• Spring Valley 65, Roosevelt (Calif.) 32 — The Grizzlies forced 21 first-half turnovers en route to the easy win.

Jason Walter, David Carroll and Jordan Hattar each scored 10 points for Spring Valley, which had little trouble against a Roosevelt squad that dressed just six players.

• Cheyenne 89, Schurr (Calif.) 44 — Elijah Johnson had 15 points as the Desert Shields rolled.

Chris McCall added 11 points for Cheyenne, which had 13 players score.

• Mojave 84, Cedarbridge Academy (Bermuda) 20 — The Rattlers opened a 37-0 lead after one quarter.

Marcus Carter led Mojave with 14 points. Anthony Marshall and Mario Lewis each added 13 for the Rattlers.

• Miami Senior 71, Basic 41 — Eddie Mercedes scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Stingarees.

Josh Ross led the Wolves with 10 points.

• Bartlett (Alaska) 63, Chaparral 42 — Kevin Winford had 24 points to lead the Golden Bears past the Cowboys.

Tyler Bryant paced Chaparral with 16 points.

• Durango 80, Marshall (Ore.) 68 — Marcus Falley had 17 points as the Trailblazers held off the Minutemen.

Dario Jokic and Ron Barnes each added 12 points for Durango.

Domo Giles scored 36 for Marshall.