Sleepy Pilots awaken, explode past Wildcats
Findlay Prep coach Andy Johnson called a timeout with seven seconds left in the first quarter Saturday with his team holding a 24-15 lead over Las Vegas High.
He felt his groggy Pilots needed a wake-up call.
"We had six guys take the ACT test this morning at 8 a.m., and we had to wake them up in one of those timeouts," Johnson said. "After we woke them up, I was really impressed with how they came out and responded."
Findlay Prep created eight turnovers and went on a 32-8 run in the second quarter before cruising to a 93-38 win over visiting Las Vegas.
"Our guys really locked in defensively in the second quarter," Johnson said. "They did a really good job of keeping guys in front, cutting off the paint and making them shoot tough, outside shots and then rebounding and running. That's what we do — defend, rebound and run. When we do those three things, I like our chances."
P.J. Washington scored a game-high 25 points and had five rebounds for the Pilots (23-1), who shot 36-for-60 (60.0 percent) from the field and finished with 29 assists.
Washington scored 10 of his 25 points in the first quarter. He finished with seven dunks, including a monster put-back for the game's first points, and showed his range later in the game with a 3-pointer before sitting out the fourth quarter.
"Every night, he's the guy we go to," Johnson said. "He does a great job establishing inside position. He does a great job of kind of helping punch teams in the mouth. He's our leader, and we expect that of him."
Findlay Prep led 58-23 at halftime, and most of the second half was played with a running clock. Las Vegas (10-15) had only six field goals in the final two quarters and shot 34.1 percent.
DeVon Cooper scored 14, Lamine Diane 13 and UNLV commit Carlos Johnson 11 for Findlay Prep.
Marquise Raybon led the Wildcats with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Donovan Joyner scored eight.
Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson
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