Tuesday’s Zone tournament results

Matt O'Brien

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1998 | 7:45 a.m.

Alex Hernandez didn't come to play Tuesday night -- he came to dominate.

The 6-foot-3 senior poured in 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Valley to a 78-60 win over Western in first-round play of the Class 4A Southern Zone basketball tournament. The victory assured the Vikings a trip to the state tournament for the third year in a row.

In other first-round action:

Las Vegas High knocked out defending state champion Bishop-Gorman, 55-53. The Wildcats advance to play Green Valley, which got past Cimarron-Memorial, 64-61.

In Friday night's other semifinal, the Vikings will take on Cheyenne, a 63-62 winner over Chaparral on Tuesday.

Valley coach Paul Aznarez, whose last two teams were eliminated from the state tournament by the eventual champion, seems confident this year's club can go all the way.

"We have an experienced nucleus that knows what it takes to win," said Aznarez, whose club improved to 24-4. "These kids are extremely focused and have a strong will to win. They want it bad this year."

Hernandez exemplified this strong will. Matched up against major college prospects Jimmy White (headed for Wyoming) and Vance Lawhorn, the undersized Viking forward converted 9 of 12 shots from the floor and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. Nineteen of his 21 points came in the first three quarters, when the outcome of the game still was in doubt.

"I've been going against players who are bigger than me all year long," said Hernandez, whose 10 rebounds were a game-high. "I try to use a lot of head fakes and use my speed and strength to my advantage."

Behind 12 points from Lawhorn, Western led 30-29 with 1:50 remaining in the first half. But an 11-0 Valley run, keyed by a 3-pointer from Dion Jackson and a layup by Hernandez, allowed the Vikings to take a 40-30 halftime led.

"The end of the first half really killed us," said Western coach Greg Bohls, whose team finished the season at 16-12. "We had a lead, then lost track of time and ended up going to the break trailing by double figures."

Western managed to trim the deficit to six on a follow-up slam by White with three minutes remaining in the third but never drew closer. Jason Juniel answered with an acrobatic 3-point play and reserve Chris Thompson drained an open 15-footer to help the Vikings push the lead back to 10 entering the fourth.

Back-to-back layups by Juniel midway through the final quarter put the game out of reach.

Juniel was the Vikings' high-scorer with 22 points. Thompson added an important 11 off the bench.

Lawhorn and White finished their high school careers with strong performances. Lawhorn scored a game-high 29 points while White added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Elsewhere Tuesday:

* LAS VEGAS 55, Gorman 53: Ronnie Jones hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, one just before the buzzer, as the visiting Wildcats earned a berth to the state tournament. The game-winning shot came after Las Vegas's Aaron Gray came up with a late offensive rebound, and found Jones outside the arc. Jones wound up with 24 to lead his club, while Darrell Ewell netted 27 in the losing effort for the Gaels.

* Cheyenne 73, Chaparral 72: The host Desert Shields watched as the Cowboys rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final quarter before holding on when Matt Cox blocked Corey White's jump shot in the final seconds. "They hit some 3s down the stretch,and we took some ill-advised shots," Cheyenne coach Larry Johnson said. "I told them to use this as a learning experience." Demetrius Hunter and Kristian McGuire netted 17 points apiece for the Shields, with Antoine Washington scoring a game-high 23 for Chaparral.

* GREEN VALLEY 64, CIMARRON-MEMORIAL 61: Jamar Glasper and Sam Earl each chipped in 16 points for the hosts, who advanced for a rematch with Las Vegas, one of two teams to beat the Gators during the season's final week. Green Valley trailed by two points heading into the final stanza, but a flurry of key steals propelled coach Larry Thomas's squad into the state tournament. "It was a nip and tuck ballgame all the way, and that's they way it should be at this point in the season," Thomas said.