Former Palo star shines at Las Vegas Classic

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 | 10:02 p.m.

P'Allen Stinnett nearly had the Creighton faithful on their feet.

Stinnett, a 2006 Palo Verde graduate, stole the ball near midcourt during the Creighton basketball team's Las Vegas Classic game against Fresno State Monday night at the Orleans Arena. The 6-foot-3, sophomore guard appeared headed for an electrifying basket but his attempt at a one-handed dunk rattled in and out.

"I cant believe I missed that dunk," Stinnett said. "That what I do, that's what I love to do. I love to dunk."

With nearly 300 Creighton fans ready to jump out of their seats, Stinnett could not hide his disappointment. He grabbed his mouth piece and tossed it roughly 30 feet into a row of empty seats.

Stinnet's night wasn't all frustration, however, as he finished with 11 points in 21 minutes of Creighton's 84-65 victory. Stinnett even landed one of his signature dunks, slamming home a lob pass from Cavel Witter as Creighton opened the second half on a 10-3 run to break a 38-all halftime tie.

Stinnett, who helped Palo Verde win the 2004 state title as a sophomore and is arguably the best player to suit up for the Summerlin school, missed six of his first seven shots, including the dunk. He also picked up two quick fouls, including one on a technical, in the first five minutes.

But Stinnett, as local fans can attest, is too talented to not make his presence felt. Plus, he was playing in Las Vegas for the first time since Palo Verde lost to Bishop Gorman in the 2006 Sunset Regional finals.

After getting a new mouth guard, he helped Creighton extend it lead to double digits by hitting a 3-pointer from the corner with 10:14 to play. He hit two of his final three shots, added three rebounds and only had one foul in his final 16 minutes.

"It was amazing to be playing in this arena again," Stinnett said. "I started out kind of slow in the first half because we hadn't played a game in more than a week.

Stinnett and Creighton will be back in action at 7 p.m. tomorrow against DePaul in the championship game.