‘Little three-headed monster’ keys Cougars’ win over Gators

Forwards Jake DesJardins and Kennedy Koehler have led Coronado offensively in almost every game this season, and Monday night was no exception.

But it was the play of guards Trey Hurlburt, Nick Davis and Bryce Savoy that had Cougars coach Jeff Kaufman smiling after the game.

The trio combined for 33 points, but more importantly, locked down Green Valley guard Xavier Jarvis as Coronado earned an 81-64 road victory. The win clinched the Southeast League title for the fifth-ranked Cougars (16-4, 8-0 Southeast).

"They played phenomenal defense," Kaufman said of his guards, who helped limit Jarvis to 13 points, less than half his season average. "You've got to give Jarvis all the credit in the world, because the kid just scores. He's a machine. Our mission was to make somebody else do it."

Jarvis averaged 26.5 points entering the game, but was just 4-for-23 from the field as the Cougars hounded him wherever he went. Coronado showed multiple defenses, including a box-and-one on Jarvis. But even when the Cougars were in zone, Jarvis rarely had room to breathe.

"We keyed on him all night. That's not a secret," Kaufman said. "When we went man, we were doubling him every time we could. And then we went to the zone, we picked him up no matter where he was on the floor.

"Great players try to take their team on their shoulders, and that's exactly what he tried to do. Just tonight, he was playing against three guards that were up to the task. It was a little three-headed monster on him."

With leading scorer DesJardins in foul trouble, junior Koehler took over in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his 26 points to help Coronado push the lead to 65-44. The 6-foot-6-inch Koehler also had 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

"Jake was in a little bit of foul trouble, so we had to rely on Kennedy," Kaufman said. "And Kennedy's an inside-outside guy. If you leave him open, he'll knock down jumpers with the best of them. When you have to be true to our guards, that leaves our big guys one-on-one, and I think we have the two best bigs around, especially in our division."

The 6-8 DesJardins added 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocked shots before fouling out with 1:35 to play. But by then, the outcome had been decided.

Davis had 13 points and four assists, Savoy had 12 points and six rebounds and Hurlburt had eight points and seven rebounds for the balanced Cougars. Coronado matched its biggest lead at 73-51 on a 3-pointer by Koehler with 4:24 to play.

Canyon Lewis had a pair of three-point plays to help Green Valley (13-11, 5-3) make a quick run, and his free throw cut it to 77-62 with 1:35 to go. But a driving bucket by Koehler ended any remaining threat.

Lewis led the Gators with 26 points and nine rebounds.

"We clinched the division again; that's two years in a row," said Kaufman, whose team plays at Foothill tonight. "But our goal is to go undefeated in league. We've got a tough game tomorrow, and we know that. We want to close it out undefeated and then we want to go through region and get to state. That's our goal."

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