Pioneers race out to early lead, hold on

Mike Sims

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 9:08 a.m.

Canyon Springs forward Juan Pattillo has set high standards for himself.

Even filling the stat sheet with 20 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots isn't enough to satisfy him.

"I didn't think it was my best game," the junior said after leading the Pioneers to a 58-47 win against Las Vegas on Tuesday. "It was probably one of my worst."

Canyon Springs coach Daryl Branham was a little more forgiving.

"At times he plays pretty well," he said of Patillo, who is averaging 21.8 points per game this season.

Canyon Springs took an early 8-4 lead when Pattillo stole the ball, dribbled the length of the floor, crossed over behind his back and finished with a slam dunk for two of his 12 first-quarter points.

Canyon Springs ran off 15 points over the final four minutes to end the quarter with a 17-point lead.

"We have a young team," Las Vegas coach Bob Beskow said. "I told the guys at the half you can't have 20 turnovers and win the game."

Turnovers were the Wildcats' problem in the first half. They committed 11, compared to the Pioneers' three.

"We just need to learn to play a full 32 minutes," Beskow said. "You can't just go hard for one quarter."

After Las Vegas pulled within 11 points in the second quarter, Canyon Springs answered in the third before both teams seemed to wear down, neither making a field goal for three minutes.

"Our game plan was to play hard and aggressive and stay above the rim," Pattillo said.

Vegas ended the game on a 9-2 run, not nearly enough to overcome Canyon Springs' early offense.

"We had a lack of focus, but they played hard," Branham said. "They didn't give up."

Canyon Springs plays Thursday night at Rancho.

"These conference games are going to be tough," Branham said. "Rancho and Valley are huge games for us."