PREP BOYS HOOPS: Three's a crowd

Trio of Class 1A basketball teams vie for league title

Advertisement

May the best team win.

Heading into the homestretch of the Southern Nevada Class 1A boys basketball race, the three teams in contention for the league title are as formidable a trio as has been seen in recent years, with all three having a realistic chance at winning a berth to the state playoffs in Reno later this month.

One of those three teams is Trinity Christian (12-6, 6-1 Southern), coached by second-year man Hugh Roberts. The Thunder players would love to return to state after losing to eventual 1A champ Virginia City in the semifinals held at The Orleans Arena last year.

The team lost star guard Alex Dimotsantos -- the leading scorer in Nevada last year (24.8 points per game) and Trinity's two-time MVP who now is redshirting for Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif. -- to graduation, but all but three players from last year's roster are back.

Trinity's tall lineup is led by leading scorer and senior Kyle Kersenbrock (6-4), fellow seniors Neal Ekpoudia (6-4) and Pedro Chivukuvuku (6-1) and juniors Jon Atkins (6-2), Nick Arnold (5-11) and Raul Gonzalez (6-0).

Roberts said he was pleased with his team's start but still expected more improvement.

"If you graded them on a scale from one to 10, I'd give them about a 7.5 right now," Roberts said. "I still think we have a lot that we can develop in terms of our abilities. We're doing some good things, and we've competed more or less throughout the season well, but we still have certain things to me that we have to take care of that will make us a better team."

Roberts said one of the team's strengths is solid leadership.

"The rock on the team is Kyle (Kersenbrock). If I had to describe him, I'd call him a point forward," he said. "I don't know the stats off the top of my head but I bet he's leading the team in assists. And Jon Atkins is an extremely talented young man and gifted athletically. He's just a junior so he still has a lot to learn, but he's learning it."

Providing size and depth from Trinity's bench are seniors Zack Lerner, Elijah Njoroge and Clint Riach, junior T.J. Calbert and sophomores Travis Kersenbrock (6-4), Raphael Roberts (6-3), Kasey Montonini and Rob Roberts.

The coach said despite having a tall team, he was short on depth in his backcourt.

"Actually I have the opposite problem as everybody else in the league. I don't have guards," he said.

The Thunder clapped into the Southern 1A race losing only to Pahranagat Valley at Alamo, 49-36 in a game Trinity played without Chivukuvuku. Roberts said his team could have won.

"Although the score doesn't reflect it, it was an extremely contested game until the end," he said. "I think they scored 10 points when I put them on the free-throw line in the last minute."

Trinity was seeking revenge against Pahranagat Valley on Friday against the Panthers in their home gym in Las Vegas. Roberts said the game was a big one.

"I see us and Alamo as two of the strongest teams in the 1A division," Roberts said. "They have one incredibly gifted athlete in George Vea but our first game against them was an extremely contested game. (Friday's game) should be very interesting because we made enough mistakes on our side to give the game away so we could beat them. They're beatable."

Results were unavailable as of press time.

With an early win over state runner-up Lake Mead (58-57), five of six losses to Southern 2A teams and a 6-0 mark against Las Vegas area 1A foes, the Thunder is definitely a team to watch.

Pahranagat Valley (20-2, 5-1) is considered one of the strongest teams in 1A and has one of the best players in senior Vea, also a star football player for the Panthers.

Coached by Mike Strong, Pahranagat Valley has won nine state championships in Class 1A and was the only 1A team ranked (No. 42) in the top 50 by MaxPreps.com in the Jan. 20 state rankings.

The Panthers, who also have a pair of talented juniors in William Vea and Kobee Ward, are a perfect 5-0 against Class 2A opponents and beat last year's 1A champs Virginia City, 67-49, on Dec. 3.

Bringing Pahranagat Valley down to earth and snapping its 14-game win streak on Jan. 14 was Lake Mead Christian Academy (14-7, 5-2), the third Southern team shooting for a berth to state.

Coached by Jeff Newton, the Eagles lost star Mike Elles to graduation but do return a talented squad led by senior Dustin Erickson, junior Oliver Complot and sophomore Jared Dean. Complot and Dean scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, in Lake Mead's win over the Panthers.

The Eagles, who have lost in the state title game the last three years while going 68-23 along the way, will see what they are made of in future road games at Pahranagat Valley and Trinity Christian but proved they are as tough as ever in a 67-61 win over two-time defending 2A state champions The Meadows School on Dec. 6.

Trinity's Roberts sees the Southern 1A as a three-team race.

"I see the conference right now as Lake Mead, Alamo (Pahranagat Valley) and us as the three teams to compete for the crown in the conference," Roberts said.

Although it is out of the league race, Mountain View Christian School (3-16, 1-5 is always a solid opponent under the direction of coach Ray LeBoeuf.

The Saints lost star Mitch Bonner to graduation but return starters Manny Mathis, Chandler LeBoeuf and Marcus Robinson.

MVCS, which won its only state basketball title in 2003 against league rival Lake Mead, will look to rebuild and make some noise if it qualifies for the league tournament later this month.

Another Las Vegas school building its program for the future is Calvary Chapel (2-10, 0-6) coached by Jack Waskowski. The Lions return Brent Clauson and will look for an upset this Friday at MVCS.

Laughlin, which began its first year playing at Class 1A after moving down from 2A, returns Joey Dickinson, David Ross, Aaron Kelly, Michael Hardy and Darion Cook. The Cougars can take solace in the fact that schools like Calvary Chapel and Warren-Walker, a private Henderson school playing as an independent in 1A this year, also are in the process of building their programs.

According to Warren-Walker athletic director Milan O'Hala, the school is in the process of petitioning the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to play a true varsity schedule next year, giving the Wolverines an opportunity to compete in the state tournament.

The Southern 1A playoffs will be played Feb. 14-18 at host sites and Durango and Del Sol high schools, while the state championship tournament will be played Feb. 23-25 in the Reno area with the title tilt scheduled for Feb. 25 at the University of Nevada's Lawlor Events Center.