Silverado wins playoff opener to continue dramatic turnaround

By Jesse Granger

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016 | 11 p.m.

Silverado High opened up the season in late November with a disappointing 64-39 loss to Coronado.

It was the Skyhawks’ 24th straight loss dating back to last season with an average margin of defeat of 26.5 points per game.

Since then Silverado is 19-6, including its 67-45 win in the opening round of the playoffs against Green Valley Wednesday night, and the Skyhawks are one game away from the regional championship.

Senior Matthew Arnold led Silverado with 23 points and was a key part of a suffocating defense that held the Gators to only 21 points in the second half.

“That has been our tactic all year,” Arnold said. “To go hard against everybody and try to get turnovers. We are all fast and long, and our length helps us a lot in that defense.”

The press defense, along with a raucous crowd, rattled the Gators and forced them into a slew of turnovers that led to easy buckets for the Skyhawks.

“It’s so much easier to score before anyone can get down there, of course,” Arnold said. “Most of the time, once they set up, they are in a 2-3 zone and it’s hard to score in the paint.”

Arnold was the biggest beneficiary of the fast break opportunities, throwing down multiple rim-rocking dunks.

“It helps with momentum because the crowd loves the dunks,” Arnold said. “I think that is one of the main reasons why we won the game. The crowd was great and they have helped us all year. We have one of the best crowds in the state.”

With both schools’ bands in the gym, the atmosphere was electric, and while Green Valley struggled to keep its composure, Silverado point guard Kris Coe was calm and collected, distributing the ball at will.

“When he plays under control he does a great job,” said Silverado coach Shelby Jones. “When he’s on, he’s on. His athleticism and driving ability really set up his teammates. He did a really good job distributing and getting his teammates involved.”

Coe finished with 16 points, four rebounds and six assists. His 10 first-half points carried the Skyhawks while Arnold struggled to find his rhythm early.

Green Valley’s leading scorer Xavier Jarvis struggled shooting and keeping possession in the face of Silverado’s defensive pressure.

“The whole key to everything we did tonight was trying to contain Jarvis,” Jones said. “Jarvis is their motor, so if we could do a good job on him and force him into some bad shots we knew we had a pretty good chance.”

Jarvis finished the game with 14 points — a team high but well below his season average.

Next up for Silverado is a rematch with Coronado in the regional semifinals at Liberty High School.

“I think we are a really different team,” Arnold said. “I think since it was the first game and it was against Coronado we were really scared to come out and we weren’t playing our normal game.”

Coronado has beaten Silverado three straight times dating back to 2012, but the Skyhawks now field one of the toughest defenses in the valley.

“The first time against them we played all man defense because that was what we were trying to do philosophically, but they are just too big,” Jones said. “They catch it in the post and if you help off they have just enough outside shooters to make you pay.”

With a zone defense that has given opponents fits and balanced scoring by Arnold, Coe and Tyric Johnson, the Skyhawks team that lost to Coronado on opening night is a distant memory from the team that will take the court Thursday.

“It is a night-and-day difference,” Jones said. “They are hard to play against because they do so many things well, but that first game we could not make a shot and it just got out of hand. I feel like we are better now, especially at shooting the ball.”