Foothill rally saves season

Adam Candee

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

Judging by the worn look on his face, Kevin Soares would prefer that his Foothill team deliver its next victory with a bit less dramatics.

The Falcons' coach could only breathe a big sigh of relief Wednesday night after Foothill erased an eight-point deficit with three minutes remaining to eliminate Rancho from the Sunrise Region playoffs 62-60.

"This tournament, there's always going to be one game like that," Soares said. "You've got to get over the hump."

The quarterfinal win earns Foothill (SE-2) a spot in Friday's semifinals against Las Vegas (NE-1) at Coronado High School. In the second semifinal, Coronado (SE-1) and Valley (NE-2). Only the Sunrise Region champion will qualify for next week's 4A State Tournament in Reno.

Thanks to strong fourth-quarter showings from seniors Jamaal Smith and Chris Crunk, Foothill is still in the hunt. Smith, the team's point guard and emotional leader, finished with a team-high 20 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 17.6 seconds to play. Crunk struggled throughout the game to convert from long range, but finally hit his first and only 3-pointer off a penetration and kick-out from Smith.

"That's senior leadership," Soares said. "Those two guys were in the locker room last year when we were bumped in the first round ... those guys didn't want their high school careers to end tonight."

Rancho had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Ricky Holman -- who had entered the game for the first time just seconds earlier -- was stripped of the ball in the frontcourt as Foothill hung on. Rancho coach Mel Shivers, already incensed after having two of his players foul out, argued for a foul to no avail.

Nick Lee paced Rancho, leading all scorers with 22 points. Tyrell Timpson scored 12 points and Deshawn Richard added 11 points for the Rams, who fell in the first round after advancing to last year's state semifinals. They did not bow out without a fight, though, leading by five points at halftime and by a 54-46 margin after a Timpson 3-pointer from the left wing with 3:05 left to play.

Smith, the son of former UNLV point guard Robert Smith, would not let the Falcons fade. He converted a threee-point play off a short jumper, nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner and then set up Crunk's big triple that brought the Falcons back within a point.

Kevin Kreier scored 14 points for Foothill, while Crunk and Mike Roland both added eight points. Chris Gillaspy pulled down nine rebounds, including an offensive board and putback with 29 seconds left that gave the Falcons a chance to win on Smith's free throws.

LAS VEGAS 52, SILVERADO 24: The Wildcats rolled through the Skyhawks (SE-4) en route to Friday's semifinal matchup with Foothill.

VALLEY 54, GREEN VALLEY 52: The Gators (SE-3) took the Vikings down to the wire, but could not pull off the upset. Valley eliminated Green Valley for the second consecutive season.

CORONADO 80, DESERT PINES 69: The Cougars' drive for their first-ever state berth continued with a home victory against the Jaguars (NE-4).