Boys roundup: Jackson heroics key Valley boys

Thursday, Dec. 4, 1997 | 9:46 a.m.

It's becoming clear that Dion Jackson is becoming a most valuable commodity -- regardless of the season.

The Southern 4A most valuable offensive football player made a smooth transition to the basketball court Wednesday night, scoring five of his 24 points in overtime -- including a buzzer-beating basket -- lifting Valley to a 70-67 victory over defending state champion Bishop Gorman.

Jackson, the quarterback on the Vikings' football team, saved the best for last. He faked a drive and drilled a jump shot from the top of the key for the winning points in front of a partisan Valley crowd.

The season opener was a rematch of last year's state and zone semifinals.

Jackson received offensive support from Alex Hernandez, who also scored 24 points and snared nine rebounds. Moe Terry and Darrell Ewell each scored 18 points for the Gaels.

It was an exciting game from start to finish. Gorman forced overtime on Terry's off-balance short jumper over two defenders with eight seconds to play in regulation.

In other action Wednesday, Green Valley nipped Durango 88-85, Bonanza whipped Basic 62-43, Western downed Rancho 83-72, Las Vegas topped Cimarron-Memorial 68-57, Chaparral defeated Clark 86-78 and Cheyenne knocked off Eldorado 70-61.

At Green Valley, Jamar Glasper, the Southern 4A's top defensive football player, made it a big night for recently crowd football MVPs. He scored 24 points, helping offset Durango's 52-point first half. Cornell Williams added 20 points for the Gators, who outscored Durango 24-7 at the free-throw line. Anwar Washington led the Trailblazers with 19 points.

At Basic, Robert Gatling was the big gun (18 points) in a Bonanza victory. Louis Brown and Marcus Brown scored 12 points each for the Bengals. Basic received 10 points apiece from Terrance Radford and Jamal Norris.

At Rancho, Vance Lawhorn and Jimmy White combined for 53 points, spoiling Rams' coach Joe Stein's return to the sidelines. Lawhorn had a game-high 31 points with White chipping in 22. Rancho, which could not handle the Warriors' inside game, received 18 points from Dante Turner.

At Las Vegas, Ronnie Jones had 19 points and Mario Finley 18 as the Wildcats downed stubborn Cimarron. The Spartans, who trailed by only two points with five minutes to play, were led by Brian Lang's 29 points.

At Chaparral, Matt Cox pumped in 29 points to pace the Cowboys to a solid win over Clark, which had opened the season with two road wins in Arizona. Kevin Gaines led the Chargers with 22 points.

At Eldorado, Cory White, Bobby Antee and Demetrius Hunter scored 18, 15 and 13 points, respectively, as Cheyenne got off to a winning start. Marcus Dorsey had 18 points for the Sundevils while teammates James Bayless and Haven Tillmon finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.