Prep teams have seeds on the line

Now that Southern Nevada's eight remaining 4A prep basketball teams have clinched berths to next week's state tournament, it's easy to dismiss this weekend's zone contests as meaningless.

Not so, say area coaches, who know that state championships are often won even before their clubs get on the plane to Reno.

A strong finish in tonight's semifinal round and Saturday's zone title games can be the difference between a relatively easy path to the state final and a first-round exit.

"Seeding is critical," Durango coach Al LaRocque said. "The northern teams don't play the competition we do night in and night out, but it's a one-game tournament for them. A first-round win against a southern team would make their season."

Last year, Green Valley's boys team finished the regular season atop the Sunrise Division and opened the zone tournament as one of two top seeds. But a poor showing at zone forced the Gators into a first-round state matchup against top northern club Galena -- a game that ended Green Valley's season.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas High's boys team rebounded from a third-place regular season finish to win the zone tournament and avoided Galena altogether, reaching the state title game before falling to Valley.

While the north may not have a dominant boys team this year, local girls teams would certainly like to stay away from a first-round tilt with three-time defending state champion McQueen, Nevada's top-ranked squad.

Winning tonight's zone semifinals will likely be enough to do that, with the Lancers expected to roll to the northern zone title now that No. 2 Reno has been knocked out.

So if No. 3 Bishop Gorman (26-3) or No. 5 Silverado (24-5) hopes to become the first Las Vegas-area club to win a state title since 1980, neither likely can stumble tonight.

"After (Tuesday's first round) win against Bonanza, we said it's not just getting to state," Silverado coach Diane Hernandez said. "We don't want to go in third or fourth. Last year we got to state and got blown out."

Hernandez's Skyhawks will face Basic (19-5) tonight at 7 p.m. at Valley in one semifinal, with Gorman slated to meet Las Vegas (20-6) in the other at 5 p.m.

In two meetings this year, Silverado swept the Wolves. The Gaels have not faced Las Vegas.

The boys side will feature some very familiar semifinal matchups between the Sunset Division's top four finishers.

Top-ranked Cheyenne (24-5) will take on No. 5 Cimarron-Memorial (18-10) for the third time this year at 5 p.m., also at Valley. The teams split during the regular season, with the Spartans winning the first meeting 77-65 and the Desert Shields coming out on top 79-60 the second time around.

Tonight's 9 p.m. semifinal will also be the third matchup between No. 2 Durango (21-9) and No. 3 Clark (20-9). The Trailblazers handed the Chargers a 79-71 loss in December, and Clark returned the favor 80-61 last month.

The winners will meet Saturday night at Valley, with the girls final at 5 p.m. and the boys title game at 7 p.m.

Also on Saturday, Bonanza (17-2-0) will face Bishop Gorman (16-6-1) in this year's 4A Southern Zone girls soccer championship at Durango at noon. The Bengals swept two regular season games against the Gaels.

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