Dysart back in West Valley picture after beating Peoria

Late in the game, while their opponents and group of both teams' fans were losing their heads, Dysart's boys basketball team kept theirs in check.

That's why the Demons will have a say in the West Valley Region race. Dysart (10-4, 3-1) protected their home court Friday, pulling away from league-leading Peoria (11-6, 5-1) for a 60-52 win.

"We knew if we lost this game after our Kellis loss, we'd be two games behind in the loss column," Dysart coach John Eberlein said. "We didn't really put that pressure on the guys, but as coaches we knew this was a huge swing game for us."

Without its leading scorer - injured senior forward Leonard Brown - and with senior center Chris Herren in foul trouble much of the night, Eberlein's team relied on its depth, guard play and poise.

The Demons seized control from the start of the second half and maintained a steady cushion until the final three minutes. After junior guard Pierre Jones' bank shot gave Dysart a 51-45 lead with 2:31 remaining, the Panthers made their final push.

In the span of 20 seconds, Peoria sophomore point guard Dewayne Russell hit a three-point shot, stole the ball and fed senior forward Justin Perez for a layup. Unfazed, senior guard Marcos Hererra slalomed through Peoria's press for a layup, bumping the lead back to 53-50.

From there, the Demons reasserted themselves. Senior Bryce Jones, who filled in for Brown at forward, grabbed an an offensive rebound and scored.

Bryce Jones, along with senior point guard Ricardo Aroz, stepped up their offensive contributions in Brown's absence. Aroz scored 11 points and Brown added eight points and seven rebounds.

"Earlier this year, we were missing Chris in a game in a tournament and a lot of guys stepped it up and I told them 'I have no doubt you guys are going to do it again.' And they did," Eberlein said. "Ricardo probably had his best game of the year. Bryce did a great job down on the boards."

Peoria missed a shot, then Russell fouled Hererra and picked up a technical for arguing the call. Hererra made three of the four free throws to give Dysart a 58-50 advantage and Russell sat on the bench for the final 38 seconds

"I think he thought he didn't a call at one end and then he gets called for a foul at the other end," Peoria coach Ken Troutt said. "That's why he didn't play for the rest of the game, because ... you can't put your teammates in a hole like that. Anyone who gets a technical foul like that shouldn't deserve to play."

It wasn't the only heated moment of the fourth quarter. Fans of both teams were sitting in the same section, trading chants throughout the night.

As the game became more tense, the bleacher barbs grew more intense. A scuffle broke out between students from both schools, stopping the game with 3:05 remaining. Players cleared the court until order was restored.

The Peoria fans moved to the other side of the court and the game resumed. There were no postgame incidents.

Before the late-game histrionics, the stories of the second half were Dysart's fast start and Pierre Jones' play to maintain the lead.

The Demons quickly broke a haltime tie, scoring three layups in the first minute-and-a-half of the third quarter to grab a 29-23 lead.

"We were out executed, out hustled. They beat us in every possible way you can be beaten," Peoria coach Ken Troutt said. "You look at the first two minutes in the third quarter, they came out and wanted it more than we did and they just totally beat us in every way."

Pierre Jones played aggressively, scoring most of his 13 second-half points on drives. He finished with a team-high 16 points

"Pierre is a really good scorer that we want to step up all the time because we know he's capable. He's just shy, a little bit," Eberlein said. "He definitely broke out. He can be a big scorer for us when he's aggressive and confident."

Russell scored a game-high 18 points, but rarely was able to penetrate and dish to teammates. Eberlein was pleased with how his team cut off the lane and made life difficult for Peoria's ringleader.

"The guys really did a good job of executing the game plan. We wanted to keep (Russell) out of the paint and the guys did a great job whether it was man or zone in cutting him off," Eberlein said. "We just wanted to not let him penetrate. We figured, let's make them a jump shooting team."

Now, Dysart is back in what appears to be a three-team race for the West Valley title. The Demons are in third place, but have the same number of losses as Peoria and Raymond S. Kellis (9-4, 4-1).

The team carried momentum from its holiday tournament performance. Dysart won three games to get to the finals of the Great Desert Shootout, where it fell to 5A-II power Anthem Boulder Creek.

On the other hand, Peoria continues a slide that started during its winter break classic, the Northwest Valley Holiday Tournament. The Panthers lost their first two tourney games, before bouncing back with two wins.

Offensive rebounding was the lone Peoria bright spot Friday. Senior forwards Javonte Fluellen (11 points, 12 rebounds) And Haisaun Sanders (seven points, six rebounds) attacked the glass, corraling some wild shots against Dysart's zone.

Now, the Panthers won't be able to run away from the rest of the league. How Peoria responds to this performance will determine its fate.

"When you play against a good team like Dysart that's well-coached, you can't compete against them when its two against five," Troutt said. "We've got to get back to understanding that there are five people on the floor and they've got to work together at both ends of the floor. We're going to have to decide whether we want to be a good team or a collection of individuals. Those who decide to be individuals are going to see their playing time diminish and we'll just play those who want to be involved as a group."