Dave Maxwell
Tabor Maxwell defends against an opponent in a recent game. The Panthers have two home league games this weekend. Sandy Valley on Friday and Lund on Saturday.
An 18-team tourney with half the field being from California, and only four from Nevada, Lincoln, Pahranagat Valley, Bonanza, Spring Mountain and Mountain View, made up the annual Vegas Invitational at Mountain View High right after Christmas.
Pahranagat did not play in the tourney last year.
Davian Jordan led three double-figure scorers with 22 points Saturday to help Bonanza’s boys basketball team to a 62-50 win over Pahranagat Valley in a first-round bracket game.
Jamal Logan had 16 points, and Garnet Walters scored 10 for Bonanza, which led 31-22 at halftime.
But the Panthers fought back throughout the second half and even pulled within one point with about four minutes to go, according to coach Mike Strong. “Had couple of opportunities at the foul line,” he said, “but didn’t connect.
Bonanza got a couple of run outs and then just like that we’re down again by 10.”
Strong noted Bonanza, out of the Division I Northwest League, is “one of the most athletic teams I’ve seen in a long time. One of the better teams in town, but we could play with them.”
Shawn Wadsworth led Pahranagat Valley with 14 points. Culen Highbe had 11 points and Jacob Roemer added 10 points for the Panthers. PVHS was 9 of 13 at the foul line, as was Bonanza.
“We moved the ball well,” Strong said. “We were able to get it to our posts and they caused them lots of problems. We had their big kids in foul trouble most of the game. We didn’t turn the ball over a lot, shot mainly from close in, not a lot of threes (although they did make five), but our biggest weakness was on the defensive rebound, they (Bonanza) got a lot of second chances. Kind of our downfall right there.”
Overall at this point of the season, Strong said, “the kids are doing good things and are improving. That’s what we’re looking for.”
On Monday, the panthers lost to the the Granite Hills Eagles of El Cajon, California. David Setterberg scored 15 points, and Cameron Spitzer had 10 for the Eagles. A 22-5 run by Granite Hills (3-6) in the second quarter, and the team’s poor scoring, only 14 points in the second half, spelled doom for the Panthers in the second round game. Shawn Wadsworth and Tabor Maxwell each had nine points for Pahranagat Valley.
On Tuesday, the Pahranagat lost to River Valley (Arizona) 52-40.
In the final game of the tournament on Wednesday, the Panthers defeated Lincoln 48-31.
The Panthers are now 8-4. Following the tourney, PVHS has five of their next seven games at home. And they start first with three in a row, facing defending state champion Spring Mountain last night at the Indian Springs gym. Then Sandy Valley tonight and Lund on Saturday.
Spring Mountain (4-3) had a win over Buckley (Calif), and a loss to Hanford West, (Calif., south of Fresno) in the same tournament in the first two days.
“They (Spring) are a quick team, maybe not as much as last year’s state champions, but very solid, and they can definitely score the ball,” Strong said.
As for Sandy Valley (2-3) and Lund, neither of which played any games after Christmas, Lund is struggling a lot this year. The school enrollment is very low and they were not even able to field a girls team.
