Top 3 boys teams in both divisions triumph

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The top three boys basketball teams in both the Sunset and Sunrise Divisions won on Tuesday night, further enhancing their chances for a place in the postseason, but the rest of the picture is becoming increasingly blurry.

Top-ranked Valley and No. 4 Las Vegas, along with Basic, posted wins in the Sunrise Division, while sixth-rated Bishop Gorman, No. 2 Durango and seventh-ranked Cheyenne marched on in the Sunset Division.

* LAS VEGAS 75, GREEN VALLEY 73: Tuesday night's most bizarre finish nearly was catastrophic to the Wildcats (19-5, 9-1 in league), but the final buzzer saved them against the Gators (13-10, 5-5). After Las Vegas' Corey Kauffman gave Vegas a 75-73 lead with 11 seconds left, Green Valley worked for what it hoped would be a game-tying shot. But junior guard Jamar Glaspar's running 5-footer in the lane missed. Glaspar got his own rebound and tried another shot -- and was fouled -- but the foul occurred after the buzzer. Green Valley slipped into a fourth-place tie with Rancho in the division with four games remaining.

* CHEYENNE 56, CIMARRON-MEMORIAL 36: The Desert Shields (15-9, 7-3 in league) turned up the defensive heat to throttle the Spartans (10-10, 5-5). Cheyenne limited Cimarron-Memorial to 12 first-half points. Marcus Webb led Cheyenne with 28 points. Justin Gaines and Mark Schroeter each scored seven for the Spartans.

* BISHOP GORMAN 94, CLARK 68: The Gaels (20-6, 9-1 in league) steamrolled the Chargers (11-10, 5-6) and locked up a postseason berth in the process. Kendall Soares led Gorman with 25 points. Clark's Kevin Gaines led everyone with 27 points. Clark was a dismal 4 of 17 from the free-throw line.

* DURANGO 70, BONANZA 60: The Trailblazers went on a 13-0 run to break open a close game in the second half. Durango (17-8, 8-2) stayed one game behind Gorman, and the Gaels are paying Durango a visit on Friday night. Steve Simister led Durango with 18 points, but it was Deldre Carr who turned in the eye-popping performance for the Trailblazers, scoring 15 points and hauling down 28 rebounds, a school record. The Bengals (2-18, 0-10) did rally to within 56-51 in the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run, but Durango's depth was too much down the stretch.

* WESTERN 66, SILVERADO 64: The Warriors (11-12, 6-5 in Sunset) staged a furious second-half rally to beat the Skyhawks (4-16, 1-9). Vance Lawhorn had 21 points to lead Western, while Nick Spajic's 22 paced Silverado.

* OTHER GAMES: Valley improved to 9-1 in the Sunrise Division and 16-5 overall with a 72-49 pasting of Eldorado (4-17, 0-10). ... Rancho (9-10, 5-5) turned back Chaparral (9-13, 4-6) in the Sunrise Division in a 68-53 win. ... Damon Caldwell scored 26 points for Basic (9-10, 7-3 in Sunrise) in its 79-58 thrashing of Vo-Tech (6-14, 1-9).