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Millennium shreds Cactus
The Millennium Tigers came to Cactus High School Wednesday and showed why they sit atop the 4A West Valley Region standings.
Five days after the Cobras battled the Tigers at Millennium, losing 84-73, Millennium pummelled the host Cobras on their home court 85-57.
The Tigers wasted little time asserting control, connecting on eight of their first 10 shots. The ability of Millennium’s guards to penetrate into the lane and find open teammates led to a number of quality scoring opportunities. If the Cactus defenders didn’t provide help Millennium’s guards finished at the rim.
Cactus assistant coach John Tobin summarized Millennium’s talents.
“Well, when you can put five guys on the court that can score, you’re going to be tough,” he said.
Despite Millennium’s marksmanship, the Cobras (9-9, 4-2) were within six at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers (14-4, 6-0) made 5-of-6 three-point shots in the quarter.
Cactus fell further behind in the second quarter after Carrick Felix slammed home a Cedric Easley alley-oop feed from just inside half court giving Millennium a 10-point lead. By halftime the margin was 14 as Cactus, which fell in overtime to Apollo 61-56 Tuesday, couldn’t keep up, scoring eight points in the second quarter.
Senior Niko Sachs, who scored six of his team high 17 points in the second quarter by proving to be a tough cover around the basket. But Cactus struggled to get much going against an aggressive Millennium defense.
“We’ve got a lot of tough kids that aren’t afraid of contact,” said Mike Lopez, Millennium coach. The Tigers slowed Cobra drives to the basket by taking six charges during the game.
“We’re playing smart, hard-nosed basketball. We always talk to our perimeter guys about making that post pass as tough as possible for the opposing guards and then for our post defenders to fight for position.”
Millennium had a game-high 25 from Kulawnie Saunders and 22 from Felix. Cactus never got closer than 12 in the second half.
“We hit a lot of threes tonight,” Saunders said. “It’s a big weapon for us. Our point guards do a good job of setting us up for good shots.”
In winning their seventh straight game, Millennium connected on 12 of 19 three-point attempts.
Cactus will look to end a three-game skid tonight when they host Lake Havasu.
