Canyon Springs HS: Back: D’Angelo Brown, Jordan Davis, Kajuan Casey, Front: Maurice Hunter, Gregory Banks
Monday, Feb. 2, 2015 | 9:53 p.m.
Enjoy the moment. Don’t let it define the season.
That was the message Canyon Springs High basketball coach Freddie Banks delivered Monday night to players after they did the unthinkable of becoming the first Las Vegas- area public school team to beat national power Findlay Prep.
Canyon Springs’ 60-59 victory in overtime will go down as the upset of the season, if not recent memory. They’ll celebrate — but one night only.
“It feels great to be the first public school team to beat them, but we are already trying to move on,” said Banks, the UNLV legend. “Hopefully this win gives us (motivation) to carry on the rest of the season.”
Canyon Springs is a perennial Las Vegas power and has won three of the past four Sunrise Region championships. But, by no means, is it on the same level as Findlay Prep, the nation’s third-ranked team and perennial national championship contender. MaxPreps ranks Canyon Springs No. 1,259.
Findlay Prep, housed in Henderson, doesn’t compete for a state championship. It plays a handful of local teams each season in exhibitions, mostly to get its roster of All-Americans game action between national tournaments. They’ve been challenged just once in the past eight seasons, when Desert Pines two seasons ago lost by just two points.
Even Banks saw the discrepancy.
“They are big, man. Big and strong,” he said of Findlay Prep. “My guys are tiny and puny. But we are fighters and have speed. We did what we had to do to get buckets.”
Canyon Springs outscored Findlay Prep 15-9 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. They led by two points with 30 seconds to play, but Findlay evened the score. They also had a shot to win in regulation, but Canyon Springs standout guard Jordan Davis lost control of the ball on the dribble drive for the winning points.
In overtime, Findlay wasn’t overlooking Canyon Springs anymore. Findlay led by two points most of the overtime, but Canyon Springs took the lead for good with less than a minute to play.
Davis, a guard who is signed with Northern Colorado, had a game-high 21 points, Banks said. Findlay Prep guard Allonzo Trier, a McDonald’s All-American and Arizona commit, had just 13.
“I told the kids to play hard, to play our game and not theirs,” Banks said. “At the end of regulation, I told the kids to not give up and keep fighting. I knew we would beat Findlay Prep.”
Channel Banks had 18 points for Canyon Springs and Dequan Crockett had 11. P.J. Washington had 16 point for Findlay Prep.
Canyon Springs joins private school and three-time defending state champion Bishop Gorman as local teams to knock off Findlay Prep.
“It is an honor to play against them because coach (Andy) Johnson didn’t have to play us,” Banks said. “I take my hat off to coach Johnson for giving my guys that chance.”
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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