Valley tied for first-place with Green Valley

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Feb. 12, 1998 | 1:22 a.m.

Expected by many to win the Sunrise Division this season, the Valley boys basketball team has found itself taking a back seat to rival Green Valley for much of the winter.

Since defeating the Vikings by a point last month, the Gators have been firmly entrenched atop the league and appeared headed to a top seed in the upcoming Southern 4A Zone Tournament.

But when a Green Valley loss earlier this week opened the door a crack, Valley stepped right in, downing the visiting Gators 65-62 Wednesday night to pull into a first-place tie with one night remaining in the regular season.

"This was a big win for us," said Vikings' coach Paul Aznarez, whose squad won its fifth-straight to improve to 22-4 overall, 12-3 Sunrise. "They're the ones who have to look over their shoulder now."

Valley, which led most of the way after opening the game with a 16-6 run, nearly gave the contest to the Gators (15-6, 12-3) in the closing moments. The hosts misfired on five straight free throw attempts, allowing Green Valley to claw back from a nine-point deficit.

"If we converted on those, it's an 11 or 12 point game," Aznarez said. "We didn't play it real smart coming down the line."

After closing the gap to just three points, however, the visitors failed to connect on a trio of 3-point shots with under a minute to play, sealing their fate.

"As a coach, you hope your kids have an opportunity to win at the end, and we did," Green Valley coach Larry Thomas said.

Visibly pumped up for their grudge match and spurred on by a boisterous crowd, the Vikings looked like world-beaters for most of the first half.

With the Gator defense keying in on Dion Jackson and Alex Hernandez, Valley guard Jason Juniel took matters into his own hands offensively, scoring 14 of his game-high 23 points before halftime.

"They kind of put a box-and-two on Alex and Dion, so I had to come out and score and play my game," Juniel said.

Green Valley guard Jamar Glasper wouldn't let his club get too far behind, making determined drives through the Viking defense and spotting up for 3-pointers to help the Gators close within 33-30 at the half.

With Glasper (20 points, eight rebounds) and center Mitch Kallick (16 points) leading the way, the visitors actually took a brief lead early in the third stanza.

But two Jackson 3-pointers sandwiched around a pair of acrobatic Juniel layups gave the advantage right back to the Vikings, who went ahead 52-42 before their late difficulties from the line made the game close down the stretch.

Now, if Green Valley defeats Chaparral tonight and Valley gets past Rancho, the Sunrise Division's top seed will be determined by the two clubs' records against the third-place (and if necessary fourth- or fifth-place) teams in the division.

"There are a lot of scenarios to go through now," Aznarez said.

* ELSEWHERE: James Bayless scored a game-high 36 points as visiting Eldorado downed Las Vegas, 68-66. The loss kept the Wildcats from pulling into a three-way tie for first-place in the Sunrise.