![Desert Pines Takes on Centennial Desert Pines Takes on Centennial](http://media.lasvegassun.com/media/img/photos/2015/12/01/20151201_Sun_Centennial_Desert_Pines_LE17_t653.jpg?214bc4f9d9bd7c08c7d0f6599bb3328710e01e7b)
Desert Pines’ Capri Uzan (1) tangles with Centennial’s Isaiah Banks (10) while pulling down a rebound during their high school boy’s basketball game on Tuesday, December 1, 2015.
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 | 10 p.m.
It’s only the first week of the season in high school basketball, and the Centennial Bulldogs have already put the rest of the valley on notice.
Centennial sent a message Tuesday night with a 66-36 destruction of Desert Pines in the season opener.
The Bulldogs and Jaguars were ranked No. 2 and 3 respectively in the Las Vegas Sun preseason Top 10, but Centennial outclassed Desert Pines in every facet.
“This is a huge win for us,” Centennial coach Todd Allen said. “(Mike Uzan) does a good job over at Desert Pines, and I think both of us wanted to have this game maybe a week or two later. But it is what it is.”
To Allen’s point, the game was sloppy. Both teams turned the ball over repeatedly and neither team shots well early in the contest.
No one, that is, except for Bulldogs’ junior guard Isaiah Banks, who couldn’t seem to miss.
“I really felt (a rhythm) going in,” Banks said. “I can honestly do better, but I’m happy with my performance.”
Banks drained three 3-pointers and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line for a game-high 19 points. He also accounted for all of Centennial’s points in the second quarter.
“That’s what we are going to need from him at times,” Allen said. “But he can do a lot more than just shoot that ball. His defense on (Capri) Uzan was really special, and I know that his threes are going to show up in the paper, but his defense was key for us tonight.”
Banks blanketed Desert Pines’ leading scorer from a year ago, and held Uzan to only two made field goals for the game.
As a team, Centennial’s man-to-man defense smothered the Jaguars. Desert Pines never scored more than 11 points in a quarter, and failed to even reach double digits in the first and fourth quarters.
During one stretch in the first half, the Jaguars went nine minutes and 31 seconds without a single made bucket.
“We came out with our strong defense and that was the key,” Allen said. “We told the kids in our locker room that we have to establish that first and you can never have a bad defensive night.”
One bright spot for Desert Pines was junior transfer Greg Floyd, who led the team with 13 points in his debut. The 6-foot-7 forward showed his range, hitting three shots from beyond the arc despite getting into early foul trouble.
Centennial’s five-star recruit Troy Brown Jr. struggled shooting the ball, but was as spectacular as ever distributing it. He whipped the ball around the court setting up his teammates with easy buckets; he finished with six assists.
“That’s what Troy is all about,” Allen said. “He cares about winning and he cares about getting his teammates involved and making them better. The kids are shooting with confidence because they know if they run the floor Troy’s going to find them.”
Brown Jr. finished the game with a respectable 18 points and seven rebounds. His highlight of the night came when he stole the ball at half court and slammed a one-handed jam to the delight of the sizeable crowd.
“Our fans are amazing and everybody came out to support us,” Banks said. “It was exciting.”
After this statement win on opening night the rest of Las Vegas will certainly have its eye on the Bulldogs, who could be the team to finally challenge Bishop Gorman.
“It’s really big, as long as we don’t get big heads and play every team like we can then we are going to be alright,” Banks said.
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