Beyond expectations

Rams make it to state game, proving themselves worthy

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They weren't predicted to win their division, or their region, and they certainly weren't expected to make it all the way to the state championship game this year.

But flying under the radar and playing with a talented group of upperclassmen with big hearts served Rancho High School's basketball team very well this past season as the Rams went further than any other Class 4A boys team in Southern Nevada, ultimately losing to Reno, 87-63, in the championship game held Feb. 24 at Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

Playing in a city that had two teams -- Bishop Gorman and Palo Verde -- ranked in the West Region polls by USA Today -- thought by most to be the two teams who would ultimately be fighting for the state championship -- Rancho (23-7 overall) quietly won the Sunrise Region title and advanced to the state playoffs in Reno. There, the Rams defeated the North's No. 2 seed, Hug, in the state semifinals, 83-68, on Feb. 23 to get to the championship game.

With just one starter taller than 6-4 -- 6-foot-5 senior center Derrick Nolasco -- and going up against a team that had four starters taller than that mark, Rancho had trouble matching up against the Huskies (27-5). Reno shot an incredible 67.4 percent from the field with four starters tallying at least 16 points in the contest.

Trailing 36-28 early in the third quarter, coach Mel Shivers' Rams went on a 7-0 run to cut Reno's lead to 36-35 with 5:55 to go in the quarter, keeping the North Las Vegas school's hopes of winning its first state title since 1985-86 alive.

But the Huskies responded with a 12-0 run and would never give up the lead in capturing the first large-school title for a team outside Las Vegas since South Tahoe, Calif., won it in 1992.

Fourth-year coach Shivers talked about how his team felt after the loss, in which his Rams were out-rebounded 35-22 by the taller Huskies.

"It hurt all of us that we lost. It really crushed us because we thought we had a very good chance to win," Shivers said. "We scouted them the night before when they beat Gorman and they (Reno) had 20 turnovers. The only reason Gorman didn't win is that they didn't capitalize on those turnovers. But our hats are off to them (Reno)."

Although few prep basketball fans or media outlets tabbed the Rams as a team that would contend at state, Shivers knew this senior-laden group was something special and used the lack of notoriety to motivate his team.

"On this side of town everybody was looking at Silverado, of course, and Valley and Foothill and we never really got the respect that we thought we deserved," he said. "And we used some of that as a motivation for the season. I don't think we get any credit as far as (developing a solid program).

"We'll put our basketball program up against any other program in the city over the last four years."

Accolades given after the regular season also gave Shivers some fuel to throw on the motivational fire.

"We thought that (senior Ariece) Perkins should have been Player of the Year (in the Northeast Division)," Shivers said. Valley's Hank Thorns took the honors. "And we kind of used that (for motivation). And Perkins brought it to my attention. He said, 'Coach, I might have cost you Coach of the Year with that.' And I looked at him and it kind of showed me a sign of maturity. And I walked up to him and gave him a big hug. I told him (Valley head coach Brian) Farnsworth, voted Northeast Division Coach of the Year) really did do a great job over there. But we did sort of use that as bulletin board (material)."

In the end, Shivers was happier with the path he and his players took, which led them all the way to the state championship game.

"I'll take that over any personal awards or achievements," he said.

Getting there was all part of the plan and Shivers gave his team credit for executing.

"They worked really, really hard," he said. "And at the beginning of the season I put it up on the board, 'Nothing less than state.' So that meant we had to be Sunrise champs first."

Leading the way for Rancho was the dynamic duo of Perkins and senior Terrence McGill, who in the fall were the main forces on the gridiron for the Rams' football team. The two went 22-for-37 for a combined 56 points against Hug in the semifinals on Feb. 23 and were among the leading scorers in Southern Nevada this past season as Perkins averaged 20.1 points per game and McGill scored an average of 14.9.

Shivers said he was thrilled to have two of his seniors go out like they did.

"It was super for them," he said. "But the thing about it is we've been to state two out of the last four years. And people don't realize that. And I don't kind of look at personal things, but people bring it to my attention that hey, the last four years Rancho's been around. But we still don't get no respect."

Getting to state was no walk in the park for the Rams, who had to beat Green Valley (16-13), Southeast Division champion Silverado (24-7) and Northeast Division champion Valley (24-9) in the Sunrise Region playoffs just to get to state.

In what was an emotional game Feb. 14 in the quarterfinals, Perkins scored 24 points and senior forward David Daniels had 18 points, six rebounds and six steals as the Rams held off the Gators, 65-61, in the last game played in the Rams' current gym.

In the Sunrise semifinals held at Desert Pines on Feb. 16, the Rams had to overcome a 13-point deficit to defeat Silverado, 72-67. The game was tied with a little more than a minute left, but Rancho came up with three straight steals that led to easy layups and the Rams punched their ticket to the Sunrise championship game the following night.

In the Sunrise championship against Northeast top seed and rival Valley on Feb. 18 at Desert Pines, the Rams had yet another close call but again relied on some late pressure defense to come up with a couple of steals and another timely victory.

Trailing 52-51 with about three minutes left to play in the game, Perkins came up with two crucial steals that he turned into four points to put Rancho up for good. Rancho ended up winning 63-57 to claim the title as Sunrise Region champion and earn a berth upstate as Perkins scored 27 points and McGill 25 in the win.

"When we came to play defense, we could contend in every game," Shivers said. "And then with Terrence and Perkins, two quality senior players, they can take over the game at any time and that's what they did."

Besides McGill, Perkins, Nolasco and Daniels, Rancho was led by seniors David Edwards -- who led the team in rebounding averaging 11.2 per game -- Terrell Tucker and Frank Salas; juniors Durrell Means, Ivory Thues and Terrell Warren; sophomore Demetrius Chaney; and freshman Elshabazz Jackson.

Shivers was helped on the bench by assistant coach Renae Whitt and junior varsity coach John LaDoucer, who made the trip upstate late last month.

Graduating all of his starting lineup will be tough for Shivers next winter, but the success has helped garner attention from college basketball coaches.

"All of them are going somewhere," Shivers said of his starting five.

As if the enthusiasm his team created on campus by returning to the state championship, Shivers, the administration and the student body at Rancho are more than ready to usher in some new digs as the brand new Rancho High School with some new athletic facilities is scheduled to open in August for the next school year.

"There's a big buzz about opening up the facilities," Shivers said of the school, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. "I just toured it today with my hard hat. The floor looks great. They showed us the Ram (logo) in the middle of the floor. And the bleachers look great. We're really excited about it."