VEGAS INVITATIONAL: Bengals survive scare, reach championship game

Bonanza’s boys basketball team is happy to be in the championship game of the Vegas Invitational.

Still, the Bengals saw plenty of room for improvement after a 54-51 semifinal win over The Meadows on Tuesday night at Mountain View.

Bonanza (6-4) was outscored 19-8 in the fourth quarter. The Meadows (5-5) had a shot at forcing overtime after Garrett Gosse nailed a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to bring the Mustangs to within 54-51, but a potential game-tying 3 at the buzzer rimmed out.

“All year long, when the game gets in the crunch time, we struggle on that,” Bonanza coach George Tarkanian said. “We struggle with our decision making.

“If we make a bad decision if a team forces us to, that’s one thing. We do a lot of that ourselves, and that’s something we have to overcome.”

The Bengals advanced to meet Santana (Calif.) in the title game at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Mountain View. Bonanza is the first team from Nevada to reach the title game of the tournament, which has existed since 2004.

Julian Romero had 18 points and 11 rebounds — his second consecutive double-double — to lead Bonanza.

Matt Figgins shot 3-for-7 from beyond the arc for nine points for the Bengals, who led 46-32 entering the fourth quarter.

“Santana’s a darn good team,” Tarkanian said. “We’ve got to play a lot better to win it and be decisive down the stretch to win it.”

Agassi Prep 68, Spring Mountain 51 — The Stars built a 22-7 first-quarter lead and cruised past the Eagles.

 

Anson Williams led Agassi Prep with 19 points. Quincy Brown added 18.

Leon Saunders paced Spring Mountain with 18 points. De’Andre Hampton and Marvelle Dunson added 12 points apiece.

Pahranagat Valley 72, Pahrump Valley 60 — Cody Hosier poured in 24 points to lift the Panthers past the Trojans.

Jeremy Roemer added 13 points, Tommy Williams scored 12 and Chase Hansen had 11 for Pahranagat Valley.

Alex Anderson led Pahrump Valley with 17 points. Dajhan Celius added 11 and David Smith posted 10.

Mountain View 47, River Valley (Ariz.) 33 — The Saints sprinted to a 16-2 lead and coasted past the Dust Devils.

Justyn Anderson led Mountain View with 23 points and four assists, and Karl Benjamin had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Meadows 85, Tech 79 — Dylan Lee scored 28 points to lead The Meadows in a shootout.

Max Newman had 25 points, Gosse added 22 and Austin Brown netted 10 for The Meadows.

Michael Johnson led Tech with 23 points. Mikey Maglich and Ben Seibert added 21 apiece, and Josh Sarabia chipped in 11.

The Meadows rallied from a 24-16 deficit entering the second quarter.

Spring Mountain 72, Victor Valley Christian (Calif.) 49 — Saunders scored 29 points as the Eagles routed the Royals.

Hampton added 13 points for Spring Mountain.

Agassi Prep 76, Desert Christian (Calif.) 52 — Brown poured in 34 points to help the Stars beat the Knights.

Dimitri Amos added 15 points and Curtis Watson had 11 for Agassi Prep, which used a 25-5 edge in the second quarter to pull away.

Pahrump Valley 55, River Valley (Ariz.) 40 — The Trojans closed the game on an 18-2 run to down the Dust Devils.

Smith scored 30 points to lead Pahrump Valley, which shot 22-for-25 from the foul line.