Local hoops tournament not kind to local teams

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Dec. 21, 1998 | 11:27 a.m.

It's been nine years since a local team won the annual Holiday Prep Classic, and if Saturday's results are any indication, it looks like that streak will be extended to a full decade.

Six of the nine Las Vegas-area squads participating in the 54-team tournament were knocked into the consolation bracket during the early session, with only Clark and host schools Durango and Cimarron-Memorial emerging with wins.

By the end of the day, only the Trailblazers and Chargers remained in the winner's draw, with the Spartans falling to California's Edison in an evening contest.

Southern Nevada's long day began early on, as Eldorado fell 66-56 to Newbury Park (Calif.) in Saturday's first contest. Palo Verde followed that up with a 106-75 loss to Killeen (Texas) in game two.

The 12:20 time slot was particularly cruel to the locals, as Green Valley and Rancho suffered simultaneous defeats. The Gators were upended by Denver-East 59-46, while Archbishop Shaw (La.) downed the Rams, 65-38.

After Cimarron survived a 67-63 thriller against Harvard-Westlake (Calif.), Bishop Gorman became the next area squad to fall by the wayside, although the Gaels didn't go down without a fight. California school South Gate needed a late run to post a 62-51 victory in that one.

Behind 23 points from guard Kevin Gaines, Clark provided some momentary relief with a 64-48 win over Canada's Governor Simcoe, but the trend continued soon thereafter with a 96-82 Pacific win over Las Vegas.

Durango finished round one off on a positive note with an 81-56 victory over Hopkinsville (Kentucky), but the Spartans' 58-53 loss to Edison ended day one on a sour note for fans of Southern Nevada basketball.

The Trailblazers and Chargers will have their work cut out for them if they hope to remain in the winner's bracket. Durango opened day two play today at 9:30 a.m. against Colorado's Horizon, while Clark squared off with St. Ignatius at 12:20 p.m.

Tidbits

All four teams ranked in this week's USA Today Top 25 poll remained in the championship bracket after day one. No. 2 Oak Hill (Va.), No. 3 Dominguez (Calif.), No. 12 Mount Zion (N.C.) and No. 23 Mountain View (Ariz.) combined to go 5-0 on Saturday...

California club Mater Dei has a pair of familiar last names in its roster. Playing for this year's Monarchs' squad: freshman Mike Strawberry, nephew of baseball's Darryl Strawberry, and sophomore Jamal Sampson, nephew of former NBA center Ralph Sampson...

South Gate (Calif.) center Ronald Johnson put his personal stamp on day one of the tournament, pulling down 17 rebounds in a win over Gorman and scoring 33 points in a victory over Robeson (N.Y.) -- both individual highs Saturday. Johnson's club will face Mount Zion today at 4:35 at Durango...

Las Vegas center Casey Reid Crockett had area highs in points (24) and rebounds (16) in Saturday's loss to Pacific. Cimarron's Brian Lang and Clark's Gaines both scored 23, while Gaines also grabbed 11 rebounds.

archive