Green Valley spreads wealth in win over DP

Adam Candee

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

Tuesday's playoff scores

Sunrise Region boys quarterfinals

(NE-1) Rancho 37, (SE-4) Silverado 36 (OT)

(NE-3) Las Vegas 62, (SE-2) Coronado 57

(NE-2) Valley 78, (SE-3) Foothill 71

(SE-1) Green Valley 79, (NE-4) Desert Pines 66

Sunset Region girls quarterfinals

(SW-2) Western 69, (NW-3) Palo Verde 53

(SW-3) Bonanza 77, (NW-2) Mojave 71 (OT)

(SW-1) Bishop Gorman 67, (NW-4) Cheyenne 26

(SW-4) Durango at (NW-1) Centennial, tonight, 7 p.m.

The common strategy for Green Valley High opponents is to focus the defense on stopping 6-foot-10 center Mitch Platt, forcing the rest of the Gators to win the game.

That is exactly what they did Tuesday night. Ron Dunlap turned in a 30-point, 13-rebound effort to lead the top-seeded and host Gators past Desert Pines, 79-66, in Sunrise Region quarterfinal action.

The undersized Jaguars (NE-4) tried a little bit of everything to defend Platt, who finished with nine points and 12 rebounds. Green Valley took advantage by running Dunlap along the baseline and allowing the athletic forward to roam for dump-down passes and offensive rebounds.

"They're concentrating on Mitch," Green Valley coach Jim Allen said. "Ron's just sort of sneaking around there."

The Gators (SE-1) never trailed, running to a 21-9 lead and not allowing the Jaguars closer than eight points the rest of the way. Turnovers and disorganized play prevented the Jaguars from any real comeback attempt.

"It's kind of been like that all year," Desert Pines coach Freddie Thompson said. "We've had our chances."

The Jaguars enjoyed multiple chances with Platt on the bench. The Oregon-bound center picked up his third foul just two minutes into the second half, and he spent the remainder of the period on the bench.

Desert Pines quickly closed within eight by forcing turnovers with its full-court press, but Tony Williams and Shyon Clark went a combined 2-for-6 from the foul line in a critical stretch to allow the Gators some cushion.

Green Valley closed the third quarter on a 9-0 run that doubled its lead and essentially put the game away at 63-45.

"That was a real key right there," Allen said.

Another key was Green Valley's 54-31 rebounding edge. The Gators grabbed 20 offensive rebounds to frustrate Desert Pines' defensive effort.

Darryl Hooper led the Jaguars with 18 points while Williams added 16. Clark scored 11 points, but struggled through a rough 3-for-13 shooting night.

Andre Matthews sparked Green Valley in the first half, scoring 15 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from the arc.

The Gators advance to face Northeast second seed Valley in Friday's region semifinals at Coronado. In the other Sunrise semifinal, Rancho (NE-1) will take on Las Vegas (NE-3).