Cobras strike big

Team surprises rivals and wins school's first boys basketball title

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They weren't the favorites to win the boys basketball championship this year, but the Cortney Junior High School boys basketball team didn't care what was supposed to happen.

Led by fourth-year coach Philip Wallen, the Cobras took a bite out of all their competition this postseason and defeated Johnson Junior High School, 37-35, in a championship game on March 23 at Valley High School to capture the school's first boys basketball title.

Eighth-graders Nick Sangchaloay (12 points), Thomas Naehu (11) and De'quan Thompson (11) led Cortney in scoring in the title tilt after leading the Cobras, members of the Southeast I Division, in scoring most of the season.

Johnson came in to the championship game undefeated and the favorite to claim the championship and jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter. But Cortney (20-1) kept its cool and went on a 23-6 run to take a 23-16 lead at halftime.

The Eagles rallied to cut Cortney's lead to three, 27-24, at the end of three quarters, but could not catch the Cobras despite the game's thrilling ending.

"We came down and hit the front end of a one-and-one and missed the second one and they got the rebound and called a timeout with nine or 10 seconds left," Wallen said. "Then they (Johnson) gave it to (Tyrone) Blake for one shot and my guard actually fouled him coming off the screen, trying to hedge it and he kind of reached out a bit and fouled him. So he had free throws to tie it because we were in the double-bonus and he we called timeout and iced him and he missed them."

Wallen talked about his strategy to defend the talented Blake.

"They had one kid, his name is Tyrone Blake and he is really good," Wallen said. "He picked up two fouls early and then we went at him and he got his third. We were playing a box-and-one (defense) on him when he was in the game, and then when he came out of the game, we went to a halfcourt trap and we went on a run because they had to pull him out."

Wallen's plan was a key to helping win the championship, but he thought it was his talented frontline that ultimately was the clincher.

"The big difference was that our big guys rebounded really well," Wallen said. "We must have had 12 over-the-back calls because we boxed out really well."

Wallen figured that playing in so many close contests this season made his team battle-ready for a big game like the championship.

"We only lost one game in the regular season, but we had a ton of close games," he said. "And I think that was the difference -- having all those close games because when Johnson took that lead, we didn't really put our heads down or anything. And then when we took the lead from them, you could just tell like they didn't want to take a shot. They just played a little nervous, a little scared.

"They had never not had a lead. That's what everybody said -- if they got the lead, they would just hold it and make you play man (man-to-man defense) and that kid (Blake) would just break you down. But they could never get the lead."

Getting to the title tilt, Cortney, located at 5301 E. Hacienda, defeated Roy Martin Middle School in its playoff opener, ousted Silvestri Junior High School by one point in its next postseason game, and then avenged its only loss of the season by beating Greenspun Junior High School in the semifinals.

"We took it to 'em," Wallen said of his Cobras' semifinal win over the Dolphins.

Wallen said despite his strong roster that featured five eighth-grade starters and suffering just one loss all regular season, few coaches gave Cortney a chance to bring home the bacon.

"We were definitely underdogs all year," Wallen said. "Even during the year, like I would e-mail coaches and ask them about the teams that we were going to play in the playoffs and they were like 'Good luck. There's no way you're going to beat Johnson.' "

Along with Sangchaloay, Naehu and De'quan Thompson, Cortney's other two starters were Corey Gilligan and Tyland Copeland. Wallen, who said all his players were zoned to attend Basic High School in Henderson, said he thinks De'quan Thompson is one of the elite players in Las Vegas.

"De'quan is probably the best (junior high) player in the whole city," said Wallen of his 5-foot-11-inch star. "He does a good job attacking the basket and just loves to go baseline. He plays on a little club team and they've been talking to him. He might end up at (Bishop) Gorman or Lake Mead Christian Academy."

Along with the eighth-grade starting quintet, the Cobras' roster included Dakota Yamka, Devian Blow, Jeylen Thompson, Keanu Villagomez, Brandon Knight and Trayvon Leccese The managers for the team were A.J. Aldaz and Devin Lujan.