Columnist Spencer Patterson: Centennial, LV capture holiday titles

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002 | 10:25 a.m.

Spencer Patterson covers high school sports for the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4085 or at spencer@lasvegassun.com.

Winter break. For most high school students, it's a chance to take a three-week break from classes and celebrate the holidays with family and friends.

For two of Southern Nevada's top prep basketball programs, it has been an opportunity to gain critical experience and establish momentum heading into the bulk of their conference schedules.

The Las Vegas High boys and Centennial girls each captured two tournament titles during the break, staking their claims as favorites for next month's regional playoffs.

The Wildcats started their run with a 3-0 showing at the Maui High School Invitational in Hawaii. Then, last week, the squad won its own Las Vegas Prep Championship, going 5-0 against a tough field to take the trophy.

"We got to play a lot of different types of teams, and we made our adjustments," said Wildcats coach Bob Beskow, whose team won all five games by double digits. "We played three teams with only one loss each, so we saw some good teams and we played well."

Jeremy Atwater, the MVP of the Las Vegas tournament, dominated in the paint, helping the hosts overcome a Washington (Ariz.) team with 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-11 twin towers in its starting lineup. Zach Queen and Glenn Thomas were also named all-tournament for the Wildcats (16-2).

The Bulldogs opened break with a 4-0 sweep of Basic's Lady Wolves Invitational, posting their second win this season against fellow area girls power Bishop Gorman in the finals.

The following week, Centennial stayed hot, going 6-0 to take its own Lady Bulldog Holiday Classic, defeating an unbeaten Antelope Valley (Calif.) squad in the championship. Bulldogs Rachael Schein and Darci Sandoval were both namd all-tournament.

"In tournament play, you never know what's going to happen, but it definitely turned out advantageous for us," Bulldogs coach Karen Weitz said.

Centennial now boasts a 20-0 record, the only unblemished mark for any local boys or girls team.

"I think we definitely have a lot of room for improvement," Weitz said. "Obviously, they want to maintain an undefeated record, but they know the teams they're playing have nothing to lose. Teams aren't going to come in and fold just because of our record."

Las Vegas gets back on the court Saturday, hosting Mojave in a final nonconference tuneup before resuming league play. Centennial will do likewise Tuesday at Silverado.

LaRocque's squad has also been without starting point guard Frank Brown, who broke his hand and missed the Holiday Prep Classic and Las Vegas Prep Championship. The coach said Brown could return in the next two weeks.

The Las Vegas event, slated for Thursday and Friday, will feature 12 teams competing in individual weight class brackets, including locals Centennial, Palo Verde, Rancho, Sierra Vista and the host Wildcats. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, with the finals scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday.

Basic's eight-team tournament will take place Friday, with competition starting at 9:30 a.m. Boulder City, Cimarron-Memorial, Foothill, Green Valley, Mojave, Valley and the hosts will be joined by California's Sunny Hills High.