Big third quarter carries Sierra Vista boys past Desert Oasis

Jazz Curley, Student Correspondent

Friday, Dec. 17, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

With a team-high 35 points, senor guard Viko Noma’aea led the Sierra Vista High boys basketball team to 66-59 victory Thursday against host Desert Oasis.

Following a 17-point loss to Western the previous night, Sierra Vista got back on track by topping its Southwest Division rivals. The Mountain Lions led by two points at halftime, but outscored Desert Oasis 18-8 in the third quarter in improving to 3-1 overall.

Maiscei Grier added 20 points for Sierra Vista, combing with Noma’aea to scored 52 of Sierra Vista’s 66 points.

While Noma’aea did most of the heavy lifting for the Mountain Lions, it was Desert Oasis senior forward Cameron Mich’l who carried the load for the Diamondbacks. He finished with 33 points, including 7 of 11 on free throw in the loss.

Desert Oasis (3-3) has dropped three of its last four games, but can remedy the problem during the holiday break. They play Monday in a tournament at Foothill.

“We played hard, we just had a lot of turnovers and it

seemed like every time we were coming back we would turn the ball over,” Desert Oasis coach Bill Evans said.