Gerad Davis lifts Canyon Springs to upset of Las Vegas

Here’s what kind of night it was for Canyon Springs’ Gerad Davis on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-4-inch senior scored 25 points in the first half for the Pioneers. Then at halftime, a female classmate ran onto the court and asked him to the upcoming school dance.

“He did everything possible,” Canyon Springs coach Freddie Banks said, “except take a charge.”

Davis finished with 36 points, 12 rebounds and one date, and host Canyon Springs upended No. 4 Las Vegas 91-78 in a heated Northeast League boys basketball game.

“This is a very important win for us because it’s a league game,” Banks said. “You can’t sit back in a league game and expect someone to lay down for you.”

No. 6 Canyon Springs (14-4, 3-0 Northeast) opened the game on a 19-4 run, and Davis had 17 first-quarter points as the Pioneers opened a 24-10 lead. Las Vegas never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way and struggled to contain the Pioneers’ four-guard lineup.

Jordan Davis added 19 points, four rebounds and four assists, Shaquile Carr supplied 16 points, three rebounds and two steals, and Chris Nelson contributed 11 points for Canyon Springs.

Re’Kwon Smith led the Wildcats (15-4, 2-1) with 27 points, including a 3-pointer that cut Canyon Springs’ lead to 78-67 with 4:36 remaining. But the Pioneers responded with a 10-2 run in the next two minutes to regain control.

“We couldn’t stop anybody whether we were playing man or zone (defense),” Wildcats coach Jason Wilson said. “I thought we were better in the second half, but every time we got close we’d give up an easy layup or an offensive rebound or turn the ball over.”

The Wildcats trailed 46-28 at halftime and started to chip away at the deficit in the third quarter. However, Jordan Davis threw a cross-court pass to Gerad Davis before crashing into the scorer’s table, leading to a fast-break basket. Jordan Davis then zipped a pass through traffic to Gerad Davis underneath the basket for a 56-42 lead with 3:12 left in the third.

“We tell people we have twin telepathy,” Gerad Davis said. “We’ve played together all our lives, and we know where each other is at. We both have that competitive edge to do whatever we can to win.”

Darrell McCall’s big dunk late in the third quarter capped a 7-0 spurt and put Canyon Springs ahead 67-50.

“We dunked. We rebounded,” Banks said. “We did everything tonight to win this game in a special way.”

Deshawn Weathers scored 17 points and Devon Colley 11 for Las Vegas.