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Green Valley turns close losses into success
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Today's Class 4A Basketball Playoff Games
All times 6:30 p.m.
Sunrise Region
• Coronado (13-8) at Valley (21-6)
• Desert Pines (14-6) at Foothill (15-11)
• Las Vegas (18-8) at Green Valley (14-12)
• Silverado (20-5) at Canyon Springs (17-9)
Sunset Region
• Cimarron-Memorial (15-11) at Bishop Gorman (23-4)
• Durango (16-9) at Legacy (19-7)
• Palo Verde (17-5) at Clark (24-4)
• Spring Valley (13-8) at Centennial (23-3)
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Feb. 15, 2012 | 8:37 a.m.
The new year didn't start well for Green Valley's boys basketball team. The Gators lost 72-62 to Foothill on Jan. 4 to fall to 4-11 and 1-2 in the Southeast League.
It could have been the end of the road for the team's postseason hopes. Instead, it was just the beginning.
Green Valley closed the season by winning 10 of its last 11 games, earning the Southeast League's No. 2 seed and a home game for the Sunrise Region tournament, which begins today at host sites. The Gators (14-12) host Las Vegas High (18-8) at 6:30 p.m.
"We had kind of a crazy start, and I give these kids credit, they hung in there and bought into what we're trying to do and it worked out for them," Green Valley coach Lorenzo Jarvis said.
The Gators weren't being dominated by the competition early. In fact, they led in many of those losses before their opponents rallied for the win. Nine of the team's 12 losses came by five points or fewer. Two went into overtime.
"We kind of gave games away," Jarvis said. "Nothing against the teams that won those games, but in those games we were winning by double digits. At that point, you have to learn how to be a winner. It's a process that a lot of athletes have to go through, and a lot of teams have to go through."
Senior guard and leading scorer Durrell McDonald, who has committed to DePaul, said the team had to learn to play a full game rather than turn off the intensity once it got a lead.
"We just figured out how to finish out the game instead of going through the motions," McDonald said. "We learned how to win games now. After losing so many times, we just figured from that moment, we've just got to finish the game. We know how to keep the lead and stay focused and disciplined."
It also took time for the team to get used to playing with McDonald and Devan Kohn. McDonald, who previously played at Del Sol, moved back to the area after playing in Mississippi last season. Kohn, the team's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, transferred from Coronado.
"We started bonding more as a team, and we finally got our team chemistry on point and started playing as one unit instead of individuals," said the coach's son, senior swingman Lorenzo Jarvis Jr.
"It was a little hard, and it took a little time. But once we got it, we felt like we couldn't be beat."
The Gators pushed their way into a four-way tie atop the Southeast League, earning the No. 2 seed once the tiebreakers were figured. Senior post player Brandon Hoisington said the close games the team faced in the league only should help in the postseason.
"It was a big confidence builder just to see how tight the league was this year," Hoisington said. "It was definitely competitive, and it might help give us this extra push in this next game."
And it appears the Gators are ready to compete for a region title in what should be a wide-open tournament.
"You can't wake up one day and become a champ," the elder Jarvis said. "You have to learn how to do it. There's a process you have to go through, and that's what makes the journey great.
"If it was easy, everybody would have all these banners on the wall. There's a reason why you have to go through the whole process, and I think these kids paid their price. They really learned how to play together and how to become winners."
Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.
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3 things .... (1)... Congrats to GVHS for an amazing (comeback) season. They were soooo much better than their early season record and proved it. Sadly, Gorman will win State, (YAWN) and that is a whole other unfortunate subject!! As soon as the "Powers That Be" grow a pair, and end this nonsense, we can have a true "PUBLIC" school State Championship, in all sports, that EVERYONE (GORMAN, excluded on religious merits, pardon me while I vomit) plays by the same rules and competes, fairly!! (2) ...Could we pleazzzzeee have an announcer, at the championship basketball game, that is truly impartial? The "baldiee" guy, who announced the GVHS ~ Foothill game, was an embarrassment to all. Even the Foothill fans were taken back by his vocal and obvious bias for them. We can do better. (3) ...Turn down the heat (or, at least open all the doors) in your arena, Foothill. Geeze, we roasted )-: