Las Vegas nips Valley to clinch division title

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2000 | 10:30 a.m.

Just two years ago, Las Vegas High and Valley dominated Southern Nevada's boys basketball scene, with the Wildcats and Vikings meeting in both the zone and state title games.

Wednesday night, the two clubs served notice that they could be major factors again when the postseason tips off next week, playing a nail-biter for the Northeast Division crown.

After withstanding a late Valley comeback, visiting Las Vegas hung on for a 55-53 win, claiming the division title and a top seed for the Sunrise Region Tournament.

"I told the kids before the game we were playing for Wildcat pride," said Las Vegas coach Bob Beskow, whose No. 2-ranked team finishes the regular season 21-6 overall (7-1 Northeast). "We finished the second half of our conference 4-0, and I thought we played great basketball."

No. 5 Valley (15-7, 5-2) had a chance to send the game into an overtime session, rallying from seven points down in the final three minutes to pull within two. But Josh Brown's pass sailed off the hands of a wide open Chris Sloan under the basket as the buzzer sounded to preserve the Vegas win.

"We're just lucky that kid's not seven feet tall," Beskow said. "That ball barely went over his hands."

The contest featured a superb individual battle between two of Southern Nevada's top players -- Valley junior Sam Jackson and Las Vegas senior Tremmell Darden.

Jackson was spectacular at times, converting a pair of steals into dunks at the other end and finishing with 19 points. But Darden had the last laugh, scoring eight of his 18 points in the third quarter as the Wildcats built a 45-39 lead.

Las Vegas extended its advantage to seven points, 49-42, on a Ryan Coiner layup with 4:30 remaining in the contest. But the Vikings weren't quite done, getting three baskets in the paint from Matt Stovall, Chris Green and Sloan to pull within three with a minute to play.

After Darden missed a pair of free throws, Valley's Mark Stevens banked in a long 3-pointer to get his team within one with eight seconds remaining. Jonathan Pollard then sank one foul shot for Las Vegas, setting up the Vikings' near-miss at the buzzer on the other end.

Pollar wound with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Darden finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. For Valley, Sloan chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds.