By DANIEL BERKSun Sports Staff
Thursday, February 12, 2009
In the final minutes of his team's game against Cottonwood Mingus, Coconino senior point guard Donovan David started thinking about how those final minutes could be the last of his high school career.
Then, the point guard turned it on. David had a timely steal, a key 3-pointer and two free throws at the end of the game to help the third-seeded Panthers to a 44-41 overtime win over No. 6 seed Mingus in the opening round of the Grand Canyon Region tournament Wednesday at the Skydome.
"I didn't want to have to go turn in my uniform. I wasn't ready for that yet," said David, who finished with a team-high 12 points and added six steals. "I was definitely thinking about how this could be it for me and I just stayed with it and tried to make plays."
David's first big play came with under a minute left in regulation with the game tied at 35. David stole the ball from Mingus point guard Chris Johnson and quickly got the ball down court. The senior then spotted classmate Jeremy Reynolds near the basket, who put up a short runner to give the Panthers a two-point lead.
Mingus' Aaron Neuhaus hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left after being fouled by Reynolds to tie the game back up. Coconino was unable to score on the next possession and the game went to overtime.
In the extra session, Mingus got buckets from Johnson and Neuhaus and went up 41-37. That's when David came through again.
This time, as Johnson laid off of him and gave him a couple of feet to work with, David stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer to cut it to one. After a stop on the next possession, junior Justin Russell hit a layup to give CHS a one point lead.
Mingus was unable to score on the next possession and had to foul David and take their chances. David knocked down both free throws and Johnson's desperation shot at the buzzer fell well short, giving CHS the win.
"Donovan stepped up in a big way today," CHS coach Kelly Smith said. "He showed what type of player he is. He's one of the elite guards in our region."
Of course, as the No. 3 seed in the tournament, Smith was hoping his team was going to have an easier time with the bottom-seeded Marauders.
"I told the kids after the game that it wasn't pretty, but we kept scrapping and got the job done," Smith said. "We came out and turned the ball and we didn't box out well at all. I think we came out like a deer in the headlights a little bit playing at the Dome for the first time, but we settled down eventually."
CHS also got a big contribution from junior Trevor Kriesel, who finished with 11 points. Kriesel who has already hit two buzzer-beaters this year, hit a 3-pointer from the corner with under a minute remaining in regulation with his team trailing 35-32, to set up David's heroics.
"One of the first things I told Trevor after he hit his first one against Flag High was that he's going to hit more of these big shots," Smith said. "Some guys just have a knack for hitting big shots like that and he's one of them. He absolutely stepped up again tonight."
With the win, CHS will play at Flagstaff High tonight at 7 p.m. in the tournament's semifinals. The two team's split this year with each team winning on the other's home court.
"We'll get some rest and forget about this win," David said. "We know we have another tough one waiting for us and it's Flag High, so it should be a lot of fun."
(4) Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain 55, (5) Page 42
Fourth-seeded Bradshaw Mountain easily held of No. 5 seed Page in the tournament's other quarterfinal and advanced to face Sinagua tonight at 7 p.m. at SHS in a semifinal showdown.
The Bears were led by Jake Howe, who had 17 points. First team All-GCR member Jordan Weir added 12 and Micah Stringer had 11.
Page was led by Ryan Sellers, who had 14.
Page hung with the Bears in the first half and went into halftime trailing by just one. In the second though, Bradshaw Mountain pulled away, outscoring Page by five in the third and seven in the fourth.
Coconino''s Justin Russell tries to drill through through Mingus''s defense during GCR quarterfinal tournament play at the Skydome on Wednesday. (Josh Biggs/Arizona Daily Sun/Order this photo at http://photos.azdailysun.com)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
In the final minutes of his team's game against Cottonwood Mingus, Coconino senior point guard Donovan David started thinking about how those final minutes could be the last of his high school career.
Then, the point guard turned it on. David had a timely steal, a key 3-pointer and two free throws at the end of the game to help the third-seeded Panthers to a 44-41 overtime win over No. 6 seed Mingus in the opening round of the Grand Canyon Region tournament Wednesday at the Skydome.
"I didn't want to have to go turn in my uniform. I wasn't ready for that yet," said David, who finished with a team-high 12 points and added six steals. "I was definitely thinking about how this could be it for me and I just stayed with it and tried to make plays."
David's first big play came with under a minute left in regulation with the game tied at 35. David stole the ball from Mingus point guard Chris Johnson and quickly got the ball down court. The senior then spotted classmate Jeremy Reynolds near the basket, who put up a short runner to give the Panthers a two-point lead.
Mingus' Aaron Neuhaus hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left after being fouled by Reynolds to tie the game back up. Coconino was unable to score on the next possession and the game went to overtime.
In the extra session, Mingus got buckets from Johnson and Neuhaus and went up 41-37. That's when David came through again.
This time, as Johnson laid off of him and gave him a couple of feet to work with, David stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer to cut it to one. After a stop on the next possession, junior Justin Russell hit a layup to give CHS a one point lead.
Mingus was unable to score on the next possession and had to foul David and take their chances. David knocked down both free throws and Johnson's desperation shot at the buzzer fell well short, giving CHS the win.
"Donovan stepped up in a big way today," CHS coach Kelly Smith said. "He showed what type of player he is. He's one of the elite guards in our region."
Of course, as the No. 3 seed in the tournament, Smith was hoping his team was going to have an easier time with the bottom-seeded Marauders.
"I told the kids after the game that it wasn't pretty, but we kept scrapping and got the job done," Smith said. "We came out and turned the ball and we didn't box out well at all. I think we came out like a deer in the headlights a little bit playing at the Dome for the first time, but we settled down eventually."
CHS also got a big contribution from junior Trevor Kriesel, who finished with 11 points. Kriesel who has already hit two buzzer-beaters this year, hit a 3-pointer from the corner with under a minute remaining in regulation with his team trailing 35-32, to set up David's heroics.
"One of the first things I told Trevor after he hit his first one against Flag High was that he's going to hit more of these big shots," Smith said. "Some guys just have a knack for hitting big shots like that and he's one of them. He absolutely stepped up again tonight."
With the win, CHS will play at Flagstaff High tonight at 7 p.m. in the tournament's semifinals. The two team's split this year with each team winning on the other's home court.
"We'll get some rest and forget about this win," David said. "We know we have another tough one waiting for us and it's Flag High, so it should be a lot of fun."
(4) Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain 55, (5) Page 42
Fourth-seeded Bradshaw Mountain easily held of No. 5 seed Page in the tournament's other quarterfinal and advanced to face Sinagua tonight at 7 p.m. at SHS in a semifinal showdown.
The Bears were led by Jake Howe, who had 17 points. First team All-GCR member Jordan Weir added 12 and Micah Stringer had 11.
Page was led by Ryan Sellers, who had 14.
Page hung with the Bears in the first half and went into halftime trailing by just one. In the second though, Bradshaw Mountain pulled away, outscoring Page by five in the third and seven in the fourth.
Coconino''s Justin Russell tries to drill through through Mingus''s defense during GCR quarterfinal tournament play at the Skydome on Wednesday. (Josh Biggs/Arizona Daily Sun/Order this photo at http://photos.azdailysun.com)
By DANIEL BERK
