Tatum sparks Valley
December 28, 2007 - 10:00 pm
Palo Verde started strong, but Valley finished stronger in a second-round game Thursday in the Las Vegas Prep Championship at Las Vegas High School.
Palo Verde did plenty of things right in the first half, forcing 10 turnovers in racing to a 13-point halftime lead.
But Valley turned the game around in the second half, with Terrence Tatum leading the way, as the Vikings stunned the Panthers, 65-60.
The win put Valley within one victory of the tournament final. The Vikings will meet Centennial, a 44-40 winner over North Hollywood (Calif.), at 11:40 a.m. today.
“We couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half,” Valley coach Brian Farnsworth said. “However, we didn’t panic, and Terrence stepped up his game.
“We lost to Palo by a point earlier in the year, and the kids felt like they had something to prove.”
Tatum took over in the second half, scoring 18 of his game-high 21 points. He made three consecutive 3-pointers during a two-minute stretch late in the contest, the final one giving the Vikings their first lead at 56-54 with 4:08 remaining.
“We have been in so many close games before that they don’t rattle,” Farnsworth said. “All of our games have been close, so they know what to do in tight situations.”
Cordero Harris had 11 points for the Vikings, and Deante Jones and David Michaels added 10 each.
David Rawlinson led the Panthers with 19 points, followed by Liloa Nobriga with 11 points and 10 each from Moses Morgan and Drew Topham.
• Legacy 63, Palos Verdes (Calif.) 41 — Walter Chappell scored a game-high 21 points and the Longhorns outscored Palos Verde 32-15 in the second half to gain the victory.
John Kirvin and Samuel Johnson each scored 12 points for Legacy.
• Centennial 44, North Hollywood (Calif.) 40 — Ben Vozzola scored 11 points to lead the Bulldogs to victory.
Jesse Zarate had a game-high 13 points for North Hollywood.
• Las Vegas 67, Cabrillo (Calif.) 64 — Christian Couthen scored 19 points, and Tony Eackles had 13 of his 17 points in the second half and overtime to lead the Wildcats over Cabrillo.
Marvin Campbell had 15 points for Las Vegas.
• Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) 66, Arbor View 55 — Darrington Banks scored 19 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Aggies.
Brooks Robinson added 11 points for Arbor View.
• Arbor View 59, Cabrillo (Calif.) 53 — Robinson scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half.
Jimmy Graham added 14 points, including a 10-for-12 effort from the free-throw line.
• Hermiston (Ore.) 75, Eldorado 73 — J.J. Ross poured in 44 points, and Hermiston made 20 of 35 free throws to turn back the Sundevils.
Curtis Malone led Eldorado with 25 points.
• Hoover (Calif.) 83, Bonanza 52 — Hoover used a 51-point second half to breeze to victory.
Jordan Johnson led Bonanza with 12 points.
• Liberty 57, Hazard (Ky.) 52 — Justin King scored 18 points as Liberty rallied from a 31-25 halftime deficit.
Milos Knezevic added 15 points for the Patriots.
• North Hollywood (Calif.) 53, Palo Verde 52 — North Hollywood made a free throw with no time left to escape with the win.
Morgan led Palo Verde with 10 points.
• Valley 47, Woodridge (Calif.) 37 — Johnquez Brooks scored 17 points to lead to lead the Vikings to victory Wednesday night.
Preps Central