SUNRISE BOYS BASKETBALL: Patchwork lineup leads Foothill past Canyon Springs

None of the players on Foothill’s boys basketball team were born when “MacGyver” was popular.

But the Falcons did a pretty good impersonation of the resourceful 1980s TV character.

Patched together by not much more than Band-Aids, bubble gum and the moxie of a few reserves, Foothill held on for a 70-67 victory over host Canyon Springs on Thursday in the Class 4A Sunrise Region semifinals.

Mauricio Smith had 19 points for the Falcons (23-8), who had four players — including three starters — foul out during the fourth quarter.

Foothill, seeking its first region title since 2008, will meet defending champion Coronado (17-9) in the title game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Canyon Springs. Coronado swept the season series from its Southeast League rival, winning by 23 and 30 points.

“We held on,” Falcons coach Kevin Soares said. “We didn’t play the greatest down the stretch. We had a bunch of bench guys who came in and held it together. They were the glue.”

Marvin Coleman added 10 points and eight rebounds, and Jace Roquemore scored 10 for Foothill, which led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter.

Carl Fischer’s slam dunk early in the fourth quarter put Foothill on top 60-45, before the Pioneers (21-3) responded with a 14-3 run behind guards Christopher Hawkins and Kevin Legardy.

The Pioneers cut the deficit to 68-67 on Elbert Bibbs’ putback basket with 1:08 left in the fourth and seemingly had all the momentum. But after a timeout, Jeron Bodin flashed through the lane and scored the biggest basket of the game to put Foothill up 70-67 with 46 seconds left.

Bodin finished with eight points, including six in the fourth quarter.

“This is his fourth year on varsity,” Soares said of Bodin. “He had just come down and turned the ball over, but I always preach to the kids, ‘Get it back. Don’t worry about your mistakes.’ … He came back, he made the right play, he made a huge layup for us.”

Hawkins had 26 points and eight rebounds for Canyon Springs despite battling leg cramps in the fourth quarter, while Legardy added 24 points.

Foothill led wire-to-wire, opening the game on an 11-2 run. Coleman’s three-point play with 1:40 left in the second quarter gave the Falcons a 33-25 lead, and they owned a 38-31 advantage at halftime.

Roquemore’s 3-pointer late in the third quarter gave Foothill its largest lead at 57-41 before the Pioneers rallied.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Soares said. “Most of these kids were on a team (last season) that went 12-16, and we didn’t win our first game till late December. For them to come out and put themselves in position to be Sunrise Region champions, it’s a credit to them and the work they put in.”

Coronado 71, Liberty 59 — Will Weems had 21 points, and Kennedy Koehler added 18 points, as the Cougars overcame a slow start to down the Patriots (13-15).

Tahj Comeaux had 13 points, and Bryce Savoy scored 10 for Coronado, which trailed 16-15 after the first quarter but outscored Liberty 40-25 in the middle quarters to take control.

“We have a senior group out there,” Cougars coach Jeff Kaufman said. “They were overaggressive at times and tried to take the game on their shoulders. But I think you’ll see us more relaxed and team-oriented on Saturday.”

Dyllan Robinson led Liberty with 20 points, and teammate Julian Strawther had 19 points.

Weems followed a miss with a slam dunk to put the Cougars up 63-55 with 2:45 remaining before Robinson’s basket cut Liberty’s deficit to six points.

But Coronado responded with a 6-0 spurt capped by Trey Hurlburt’s steal and layup with 1:17 remaining to go up 69-57.