Palo Verde wins its opener

Adam Candee

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2003 | 11:30 a.m.

Prep Schedule

Updated Feb. 26, 2003

Boys' pairings

Today

Palo Verde 68, Valley 49

(SS-1) Cheyenne vs. (N-3) Hug, 12:10 p.m.

(SR-1) Rancho vs. (N-2) Carson, 3:20 p.m.

(N-1) Galena vs. (SS-3) Durango, 6:35 p.m.

Girls' pairings

Today

(SS-2) Centennial vs. (SR-2) Chaparral, 10:35 a.m.

(SS-1) Bishop Gorman vs. (N-3) Fallon, 1:45 p.m.

(SR-1) Las Vegas vs. (N-2) Douglas, 5 p.m.

(N-1) Reno vs. (SS-3) Western, 8:10 p.m.

RENO -- Josh Steffen led a balanced Palo Verde scoring attack with 18 points, and the Panthers blew away Valley in the third quarter to cruise to a 68-49 victory in this morning's opening quarterfinal of the 4A State Basketball Tournament at Lawlor Events Center.

"We're pretty excited," Palo Verde coach Phil Clarke said. "We're just happy to be staying for another day."

Palo Verde (27-6), which did not qualify for last year's region playoffs, advances to Thursday's 4A semifinals to face the winner of today's Durango-Galena quarterfinal. The 9 a.m. start time for today's game did not thrill anyone, but Clarke said it now feels like his team "gets two days off" before the semifinal.

"That 9 a.m. game, nobody wants to play that," Clarke said.

Steffen converted five 3-pointers as the Panthers used the long ball to widen their lead. Palo Verde connected six times overall from beyond the arc.

"If we hit a couple (from outside), it opens it up a little for our penetration," Clarke said.

Lendor Coney totaled a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Nate Schulte added 11 points for the Panthers. Today's big Palo Verde victory did not come as a shock because the Panthers defeated Valley, 85-44, in December.

Palo Verde ripped off a 14-4 run over the first four minutes of the second half to bury the Vikings, converting a handful of Valley turnovers. Coney's score off an offensive rebound put the Panthers up, 48-27, midway through the third quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Valley (13-18), which qualified for the state playoffs on the strength of a 64-60 upset of top-seeded Green Valley in last weekend's Sunrise Region semifinals, held a two-point lead after one quarter. The undersized Vikings, though, could not hang on the boards and eventually wilted under Palo Verde's full-court defensive pressure.

"The defense was the key again," Clarke said.

Nick Green closed his high school career with a strong 21-point, seven-rebound effort. Josh Rivers pitched in with six points for Valley.