Four-year Valley High guard Burton shines in semifinal win against Coronado

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015 | 11:11 p.m.

The basketball bounced off the front of the rim and then the backboard before falling through the net for three points.

It was that kind of second half for Valley High senior guard Cameron Burton.

After battling foul trouble in the first half today against Coronado in the Sunrise Regional semifinals, Burton wouldn’t be denied the rest of the game in leading the Vikings to a 61-50 victory. Valley advances to Friday’s Sunrise championship game to face Canyon Springs, who upset Las Vegas in the first semifinal.

The game was tied at 22 at halftime, but Valley opened the third quarter on a 15-0 scoring run to take the lead for good. Burton had 12 points in the quarter, including a trio of 3-pointers, to finish with a game-high 24 points.

“It was all effort,” Burton said. “We started playing our type of basketball. We pushed it when we had a chance. It was effort. All effort tonight.”

But Burton, a four-year varsity player and the Vikings’ team leader, doesn’t deserve all the credit. They trailed 20-9 midway through the second quarter and Burton was on the bench with two fouls.

His teammates, all seniors who are also trying to win a Sunrise championship in their last go-round, closed the first half strong to set the table for the third-quarter outburst.

Darrion Daniels made a pair of free throws, Nick Brannon had an offensive rebound and put-back layup, and Shea Garland and Taveon Jackson each had baskets.

A double-digit deficit quickly turned into a tie game to give Valley the momentum heading into halftime.

“The run to end the half was huge, and we took the momentum into the second half,” Valley coach Brian Farnsworth said. “Our kids turned it up on defense, which led to some easy offense for us.”

Valley, who lost just three games during the regular season, showed with the strong second half why it is considered one of the top teams in the Las Vegas Valley. On some possessions, especially during the scoring spurt, Coronado struggled getting the ball into its offensive set.

That led to easy fast break points, including a highlight-reel style alley-oop from Burton to Garland to cap the Vikings’ third quarter scoring. They outscored Coronado in the quarter, 22-7.

“It’s our senior year. It’s our last ride,” Burton said.

Daniels had 12 points for Valley and Brannon scored 11. Jackson finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and arguably the play of the night. In the first quarter, he blocked a Coronado shot into the backboard to bring loud cheers from the crowd.

Coronado trailed by 18 points late in the third quarter, but made three straight 3-pointers in making a late charge. The Southeast League champion Cougars twice trailed by seven points in the fourth.

Junior forward Jake DesJardins had 19 points to lead Coronado.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21