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February 12, 2012

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Canyon Springs races past Foothill for Sunrise title, berth in state tourney

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Justin M. Bowen

Members of the Canyon Springs High basketball team celebrate after defeating Foothill 76-60 in the Sunrise Regional championship game at Liberty High School to advance to next week’s state tournament in Reno.

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Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 | 10:40 p.m.

Canyon Springs-Foothill Sunrise Regional Championship Game

Dakota Yamka of Foothill High scores two points on Friday night during the Sunrise Regional championship game against Canyon Springs. Yamka finished with seven points off the bench, but the Falcons lost 76-60. Launch slideshow »

Those mile-long runs in 100-plus degree heat were exhausting during the offseason for members of the Canyon Springs High basketball team.

The season was still several months away from beginning, but the players were already preparing by hitting the track for a grueling training regimen. They had to run one mile, or four times around the track, in less than six minutes — every player, every practice.

That conditioning paid off Friday night in the Sunrise Regional championship game.

The Pioneers proved to be too athletic and quick for Foothill, jumping out to a quick double-digit lead and receiving a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds from junior guard Michael Thompson in a 76-60 victory at Liberty.

The win gives Canyon Springs a spot at next week’s four-team state tournament in Reno.

Like it did against Foothill, Canyon Springs (24-3) has raced past the competition this winter. The Pioneers went undefeated in winning the Northeast Division and enter the state tournament on a 15-game winning streak.

“It was hot out there on that track, like 110 degrees,” said senior center Adrian Snow, Canyon Springs’ captain. “But we are running team that likes to press. All the hard work has paid off.”

Seniors like Snow, Jeremy Alexander, Curtis Stuckey Jr. and Dominic Williams have been teammates in the program since their freshman year. The group, always talented and full of potential, knew it would take dedicating itself in the offseason to get over hump.

So, they buckled down and hit the track. Now, they are two games away from capturing a state title.

“It’s been great to watch them grow,” Canyon Springs coach Daryl Branham said. “We thought we had a chance at the beginning of the season to make a good run.”

Canyon Springs opened in 2004 in North Las Vegas and has struggled to field quality teams in several sports.

However, that is far from the case with basketball, a sport that is always the toast of the school. The basketball team lost three years ago in the state semifinals by nine points to Reno’s Galena High and consistently is in the thick of the playoff race.

A victory next week in Reno would be the school’s first state title in any sport.

“This is great for the kids and great for the school,” Branham said.

Canyon Springs opened Friday's game on a 7-2 run and never trailed. The 6-foot-4 Thompson, a lanky guard who is arguably the area’s top junior, scored seven of Canyon Springs’ first 11 points.

Whenever Foothill pieced together a rally, Canyon Springs would turn up the pace of the game and extend its lead back to a comfortable margin.

“The one thing we have to try to use to our advantage is our speed,” Branham said.

Foothill senior forward Evan Roquemore, the Falcons’ top player, started slow and battled foul trouble all night in finishing with 15 points.

Canyon Springs led 40-30 at halftime, but Roquemore scored two quick baskets to trim the deficit to six points. That was as close as Foothill would get.

Stuckey Jr. scored seven of his nine points in the third quarter, junior Jared Brandon converted a 3-point play and Thompson continued to create mismatch problems in helping the Pioneers build their biggest advantage of the game at 16 points.

Thompson proved tough to guard and spent most of the night on the free throw line, where he connected on seven of eight attempts.

Alexander added 12 points for Canyon Springs and Brandon finished with 11. Snow and Donald Anderson each scored 10.

Canyon Springs will play the loser of Saturday’s Northern Regional title game between Bishop Manogue and McQueen highs at 4:40 p.m. on Thursday at the Lawlor Events Center.

The state title game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday.

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