It’s all over for So. Nevada crew

Spencer Patterson and Victoria Sun

Thursday, July 25, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

Southern Nevada's participation in this week's adidas Big Time Tournament came to an end Wednesday, as nine local squads were knocked out of the 344-team event.

The Las Vegas Rebels, who went 3-0 in pool play to earn a spot in the premier open bracket, stayed close with AAU powerhouse DC Assault I but fell 64-58.

Lorenzo Wade scored 18 points and Jason Petrimoulx added 13 for the Rebels, who saw the Assault close the first half with a 23-2 run.

The Las Vegas Stars dropped their third game in four open division outings, losing to the Faifax County (Va.) Stars 80-60. Mitch Platt and Steve Sowers both tallied 13 points in the defeat.

Palo Verde, the third area squad to make the open draw, ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday morning, falling 111-61 to Pump N Run (Calif.). Lendor Coney (15), Jordan Wilmore (13) and Erik Wood (10) finished in double figures for the Panthers.

Sierra Vista posted Southern Nevada's lone win Wednesday, defeating ECBA Freshman II (Wash.) 77-39 behind 19 points from Troy Cotton. The Mountain Lions later were ousted by the LA Rockfish Orcas (Calif.) 62-50.

Southern Nevada could not provide enough officials for a three-man crew at each contest, so Big Time director Larry McKay has allowed prospective referees from around the nation to use the tourney as a training ground.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference, for example, provides officials for the eight courts at Green Valley, Durango, Sierra Vista and Foothill. SWAC referees have been coming to the Big Time for the past three years, and George Evans, supervisor of officials for the conference, considers it a valuable tool for his staff.

"We use this as a training instrument for our officials, as well as a way to identify people who could be taken into the conference," Evans said.

The California Collegiate Athletic Association, a Division II conference, has manned contests at Desert Pines, Las Vegas High and Chaparral. And high school and small college officials from Kentucky to California have picked up games at Cimarron-Memorial, Palo Verde, Mojave and Coronado.

For the third straight year, Valley High School has served as the host site for the Coast to Coast Referee School, a traveling camp for aspiring officials featuring instruction from NBA referees.

And members of the local Southern Nevada Officials Association round out the massive crew, working games at Basic and Mojave.

Walker, a 6-foot-9 forward for the Boston Celtics, is an assistant coach for the Illinois Celtics, the team his younger brother Jarvis plays for. Although the elder Walker has played in the Big Time, this is the first he has coached in it.

"I've known these young guys since they were in my camp five years ago," Walker said. "Now they're old enough to play in tournaments. It's nice for me to get to watch him (Jarvis) play."