Coleman, Falcons defeat Eldorado

Marvin Coleman hadn't played in a basketball game since Dec. 21. But the Foothill sophomore showed no rust Monday night, especially from the free-throw line.

Coleman scored 21 points and hit his first 12 foul shots to lead the Falcons to a 73-63 boys basketball victory over visiting Eldorado.

"That's a credit to him, because he never got down," Foothill coach Kevin Soares said of Coleman, who fractured his left ankle during the team's trip to Hawaii. "He just kept working. We knew if we got him back, he'd be a big boost for us."

He certainly was. Coleman scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Falcons (9-14, 3-4 Southeast League) rally for the win. He was 13-for-15 from the free-throw line for the game. Coleman was just 16-for-29 (55.2 percent) from the line in the nine games he played before the injury.

"It's funny, because since he's been hurt, he can't really do much," Soares said. "But he's been shooting free throws, so it obviously paid off when he stepped up to the line tonight. And we needed it."

Eldorado (9-8, 4-3) took the lead on its first possession of the second half and held it until a half hook by Foothill's Devon Erb tied the game game at 58 with 2:56 to play.

Coleman then got a steal and drove to the basket where he was fouled by Shane Barnes. Barnes also was whistled for a technical foul on the play, and Coleman knocked down all four free throws to give the Falcons the lead for good.

"I hate to say it, but the one foul and the technical kind of swung it," Soares said. "We were battling and we were grinding, trying to get back into the game, which we did. But I think that foul and the technical kind of turned the tide for us."

The door seemed to open for a Foothill comeback when Eldorado's leading scorer, Carl Crayon, picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with 3:27 to go in the third quarter.

But senior Carmonte Jones took over, scoring nine of his 13 points in the third quarter to help the Sundevils take a 49-43 lead after three quarters.

"They've got a good ballclub," Soares said. "Everybody kind of keys on (Crayon), but there's other guys on the team that can do some damage. Credit to those guys for taking care of the ball and knocking down shots when they had to when their star player was out."

Crayon finished with 25 points and five rebounds, and Barnes added 12 points and five rebounds for Eldorado.

T.J. Johnson had 12 points and five steals, and Erb scored 11 for Foothill, which has won three straight Southeast League games after an 0-4 start.

"Since we got off to that bad start and ended up going 0-4, we just kind of viewed it as every game is a playoff game," Soares said. "The kids are listening, they're executing a lot better and we're getting rewarded for it."

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at 702-380-4587 or dseiters@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DamonSeiters