Centennial, star player Brown Jr. finish off Durango, get matchup with Gorman

By Jesse Granger

Friday, Feb. 19, 2016 | 2 a.m.

With time winding down in the third quarter Troy Brown Jr. calmly watched the clock tick down. With only seconds left Brown drove past his defender, took contact from the defender and heaved the ball over his shoulder.

The ball kissed the backboard and fell through the hoop as the buzzer sounded and Brown whipped his head around to glare into the crowd.

The layup capped off a five-minute stretch in which Brown scored 14 of the Centennial High basketball team’s 16 points, and put an exclamation point on his case for being the best player in Nevada.

Brown finished with 30 points and 16 rebounds Thursday in Centennial’s 65-48 win over Durango in the Sunset Region semifinal.

“He’s got a different look in his eye right now,” said Centennial coach Todd Allen after the game.

Brown was battered by Trailblazer defenders all night. That resulted in Michael Diggins and Demetrius Valdez both fouling out of the game, and gave Brown extra motivation that he didn’t need to begin with.

“We came out with an attitude today,” Brown said. “We played how we were supposed to and that’s why we are going to the championship. It was a playoff atmosphere and some guys get nervous during the game so I tried to step it up tonight and be what the team needed me to be.”

Brown also scored eight of the Bulldogs’ first 12 points, and assisted on five buckets.

“I do like to facilitate the basketball but that’s not what we needed tonight,” Brown said.

Despite his fast start, Durango played Centennial tough in the first half and only trailed 29-25 at halftime before the Bulldogs’ defense tightened its grip in the third quarter.

Durango went on a seven-minute scoring drought spanning the second and third quarters, and scored just seven points in the third period.

“We needed to control (Chase) Ruiz and Isaiah Banks did a great job on him,” Allen said. “That was our focus and the kids really bought in and did a good job.”

Ruiz was limited to only four points in the first half, and was uncharacteristically off-target from long range.

Junior forward Zyare Ruffin carried Durango with 11 points, but it wasn’t enough.

Centennial’s Jake Hutchings recorded another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and dominated the glass along with Brown.

“That’s the key for us,” Allen said. “We got guys that can go get the ball for us, especially Troy. We told them that (Durango) was going to be shooting a lot of threes so we needed to track down the boards.”

The win sets up the matchup that has loomed all season. Centennial and Bishop Gorman will tip off at 7 p.m. Friday in the Sunset Regional championship game.

“We just have to do what we do,” Allen said. “It’s a short time to prepare for it but the kids are excited for it. We just have to go out there and give it our best, and see if we can be there in the fourth quarter.”

Gorman struggled early on in its semifinal before pulling away in a 75-54 win over Desert Oasis. Chuck O’Bannon led the Gaels with 21 points and six rebounds.

“They are a great team,” Allen said. “They are well coached and they are on top for a reason.”

The stage is set for the biggest game of the year and sitting squarely in the burning-hot spotlight will be the matchup between the two top recruits in the state — Brown and O’Bannon, who are close friends and AAU teams.

“I feel like it should be a pretty good matchup,” Brown said. “There are a lot of nerves going into it but I feel like I’m ready to go.”