Sophomore’s dunk puts flash into Clark blowout

For a little more than 30 minutes of game action, Clark’s boys basketball team appeared on its way to a straightforward victory.

Jalen Hill made sure there was at least one memorable moment Thursday.

Hill, a 6-foot-6-inch sophomore, threw down a ferocious dunk late in the game to put an exclamation point on the Chargers’ 72-50 nonleague win over host Las Vegas.

“Jalen’s play was phenomenal,” Clark coach Colin Darfour said after humming the “SportsCenter” theme.

James Bridges made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, and Trey Woodbury added 15 points and seven rebounds for No. 2 Clark (16-3).

Hill, who had 11 points and nine rebounds, beat his defender off the dribble and finished with a right-handed dunk through traffic to extend the Chargers’ lead to 70-50 with 1:40 remaining.

Hill was greeted by excited teammates during a timeout with less than a minute remaining.

“He’s young,” Darfour said. “He’s a true sophomore, so when he grows into his body, man, he’s going to be doing that to everyone in town.”

Clark closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run to go up 22-9 and led by double digits the rest of the way. Bridges had 14 points and four 3s in the first half to help stake the Chargers to a 39-25 halftime lead.

“Every time I see James shoot it, I expect the ball to go in,” Darfour said.

Josh Valencia made four 3-pointers in the third for Las Vegas, which got as close as 54-43 late in the quarter before the Chargers pulled away.

Valenica led the Wildcats (10-8) with 14 points. Deondre Northey had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Donovan Joyner added 11 points and six boards for Las Vegas.

Las Vegas played its second game without leading scorer and rebounder Marquise Raybon, who suffered a broken wrist before Tuesday’s game against Rancho.

Antwon Jackson had 12 points and seven rebounds for Clark.

“The guys played great overall,” Darfour said. “We didn’t do a good job in transition defense, but other than that, we did have some players make some serious contributions to our victory.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.