Promotion granted

Adam Candee

Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004 | 10:38 a.m.

Cohesiveness and continuity are buzzwords for Coronado coach Paul Berg, whose team spent the summer playing together to prepare for a state title run.

But when the pivotal minutes arrived in Wednesday night's showdown with Foothill, a sophomore playing his first game with the varsity team dominated the game and put the Cougars on the brink of their first Southeast Division title.

Tysson Poots arrived from the junior varsity in style, scoring nine of his 15 points in a key fourth-quarter stretch that pushed Coronado to a 70-59 home win against Foothill. Now 9-0 in division play, the Cougars can wrap up the Southeast crown with a win Friday night at Green Valley.

They can thank Poots' improbable showing for putting them in that position.

"It's that time of year -- you bring him up," Berg said. "I put him in the game and he was strong. For a sophomore to come in a pressure-packed game like that, he had ice water in his veins. The kid's a warrior out there and he's just a heck of a ballplayer."

Poots adds to a delicately crafted mix that Berg has been shaping since last spring. Berg convinced standout center Mike Kale to remain with the team instead of playing with an all-star team over the summer. That move helped the Cougars develop their identity around Kale and point guard Sid Stanley, who have led Coronado to a 19-7 mark thus far.

"I'm a true believer in cohesiveness," Berg said. "That's part of the reason we're playing strong down the stretch is that we're playing together. We played together all summer and we played a lot of games."

Yet in need of extra rebounding and scoring, Berg reached down to the junior varsity for Poots, who was averaging 28 points per game. Poots and Travis Stuman paced the Cougars with 15 points apiece. Kale and Stanley both pitched in with 14 points.

With just under five minutes remaining, Poots began his hot streak with a backdoor cut for a layup. He followed that by grabbing three of his own offensive rebounds and scoring on a tip on the next possession, then converting another layup after a Foothill turnover that pushed Coronado's lead to 56-47 with 3:11 to play.

Poots capped his remarkable night on the next trip with a three-point play, converting an acrobatic transition layup with his back to the basket and hitting the free throw to give the Cougars a 12-point edge.

"I get fouled and I make it, I just get pumped," Poots said. "That gets the rest of my team pumped and we start playing better."

In just 93 seconds, Poots pushed the Cougars to the win.

"I was really nervous, but I knew I could do the job," Poots said. "Once I put in my first bucket, I just keep going from there."

Berg felt good about his team's response to fourth-quarter pressure from Foothill, which was led by Jamaal Smith's game-high 24 points.

"We played strong down the stretch and that was the key," Berg said. "We've been preaching that all year long."

And the Cougars have listened, putting them in prime position to battle Foothill and Las Vegas for the Sunrise Region title and a berth in the 4A State Tournament.

"We're at the point now where we control what happens to us," Berg said.