Gums licking his chops over performance vs. Durango

Adam Candee

Monday, Feb. 23, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

4A STATE TOURNAMENT

(SS-1) Palo Verde vs. (N-2) Elko, 4:40 p.m.

(SR-1) Foothill vs. (N-1) Reed, 8 p.m.

(SR-1) Desert Pines vs. (N-1) Reno, 3 p.m.

(SS-1) Centennial vs. (N-2) Reed, 6:20 p.m.

Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.

Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.

People write cheesy movie scripts about the fourth-quarter performance put on by Palo Verde's Luke Gums.

Here comes the sophomore who started the season on the bench and did not score a point in the first three quarters, ready to lead his team from behind in the biggest game of the year. Save it. No one will buy it.

Except that it happened Saturday night in the Panthers' 77-72 win against Durango in the Sunset Region boys' basketball title game, a victory that sent Palo Verde to the 4A State Tournament in Reno for the second consecutive season.

The Panthers will face Elko and Sunrise Region champion Foothill will take on Reed in Thursday's semifinals. The winners meet Friday night for the state championship in the new reduced state playoff format.

Palo Verde made it that far last year before losing to Cheyenne and trailing Durango by eight points midway through the fourth quarter, a return trip looked unlikely as the state's two best teams traded blows. Cue the lights, camera and Gums.

"I knew that we only had one quarter left and I had to make it my own," Gums said.

He made a running steal and calmly drilled the 3-pointer that put Palo Verde ahead with 4:10 to play. He drew the fifth foul on Durango point guard Tywain McTyer, who had frustrated the Panthers throughout the game. And finally, Gums made the crazy reverse layup with two minutes left that gave Palo Verde a four-point lead that it never gave up.

"He was an inspiration," Panthers coach Phil Clarke said. "He played so hard."

Gums' six points paled in comparison to the 20 points apiece posted by teammates Nate Schulte and Josh Steffen, or the 18-point, 14-rebound effort of Amir Ahmad. But without them, the Panthers would not be headed back to Reno to complete last year's mission.

"I think they're pretty hungry," Clarke said. "They're so excited about going. We got there last year and it was sort of unexpected and it felt pretty good. Now, we can go back there and win it."

As if the Panthers needed more motivation, they will have their coach to play for -- Clarke said Saturday that he was recently diagnosed with a recurrence of the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that he has battled since July 2002. He is undergoing treatment and also dealing with other medical issues within his family, all while keeping the Panthers moving forward.

"It's been a hard week, I'll tell you," Clarke said as he fought back emotion after Saturday's victory. "I'll be all right."

Fab Foothill

There is less talent on Foothill's roster than there was a year ago and Falcons coach Kevin Soares does not deny it. What that squad lacked was team chemistry -- the kind of cohesive attitude and play that the Falcons used to survive a wild run through the Sunrise Region playoffs and into the state playoffs.

"By far (we have better chemistry now)," Soares said. "This year's team didn't mind who got the headlines. Last year, that was a problem. By far, last year's team was more talented, but they were more selfish."

With standout scorer Harvey Perry Jr., leaving the Falcons for Cheyenne after his junior season, point guard Jamaal Smith became the sole leader of the Foothill team and he is thriving in that role in the playoffs. Smith averaged 29.3 points in three region tournament games, leading the Falcons back from fourth-quarter deficits against Rancho, Las Vegas and Valley.

In Saturday's 63-55 region title game win against the Vikings, Smith scored 38 points, including 16 in the final eight minutes.

"We just jumped on Jamaal's back and he carried us through," Soares said.

The basketball team delivered Foothill's first regional championship in the school's five-year history.

Bulldog mentality

There were Bishop Gorman and Centennial, battling with everything on the line, scrapping for loose balls and one-upping each other. What else was new? Apparently very little for Centennial, judging by how the Bulldogs drilled free throws and defended late in the fourth quarter in their 60-56 win in the Sunset Region title game.

The two-time defending state champions eliminated the rival Gaels, just as they did in last year's state title game. Centennial coach Karen Weitz feels her girls respond in those pressure-packed games because they are prepared.

"We travel a lot, year-round with these kids and we play in a lot of close games," Weitz said. "We give them pressure situations and we put them in pressure situations in practice as well, which I think is important to do."

"The other thing is, they've got to listen to me six days a week, so if that isn't enough pressure sometimes, I don't know what is."

Gorman held a brief fourth-quarter lead, but the Gaels faltered at the free-throw line while Centennial converted its chances. The Bulldogs created the opportunities by attacking the Gorman defense -- the usual Centennial game plan.

"You think sometimes when you plan certain teams that you have to play differently, but we focus on ourselves," Weitz said.

Centennial will square off with Reed in a state-championship level game in Thursday's semifinals. The Raiders were mild upset losers in the Northern title game against Reno.