John Renshaw •
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• Published: February 12. 2011 4:55AM
| HURRICANE - It's not the nicest thing to say, but the Hurricane Tigers had revenge on the mind Friday night vs. Canyon View.
Nearly a month ago, the struggling Falcons shocked Region 9 fans with their two-point win over the Tigers.
However, the Tigers redeemed themselves Friday with a 51-38 win over Canyon View, setting up Tuesday's showdown at Cedar for second place.
"We knew we couldn't come in here and have a letdown against these guys (Falcons)," said Tiger point guard McCrae Vaifanua, who finished with three points and five assists. "We took care of business tonight and look forward to competing for that home playoff game against Cedar."
In short, the winner of Tuesday's highly anticipated matchup will secure a home playoff game in the first round of the 3A state tournament.
Tiger forward Robert Reeve said it makes the playoff journey a bit easier in getting that first-round home date.
With that said, though, the senior knows the task at hand won't be easy up north.
"They (Cedar) have a good team over there and we'll have our work cut out for us," said Reeve who had with six points and three rebounds against the Falcons. "We beat them earlier, but we can't rely on that performance alone. We're a different team now. And they're a different team than before. We have to treat it like it's our first matchup of the season."
Hurricane has won five of its last six games to give themselves hope for a second-place finish in region.
Against the Falcons (1-10 region, 6-14 overall), Hurricane (7-4, 15-5) did play sluggish early on, building a slim 12-9 lead to close out the first quarter. Initially, the environment felt like an exhibition game more than a region game with playoff implications on the line.
After a fiery speech in the huddle by Tigers coach Gordon Dotson, the Tigers kicked it into a higher gear during the middle quarters, a 28-12 run put the game firmly in Hurricane's hands with its best stretch coming in the middle of the second.
Ahead 16-9, the home team used its obvious size advantage.
Colton Marshall scored on the low block. On the next possession, the Tigers kicked drew a double team inside before kicking out to Weston Yardley for a trey.
The 7-0 run was capped off by Taylor Parker's midrange jump shot.
Hurricane grew the lead to 21 near the end of the third - its biggest of the game. Yet the Falcons wouldn't go away quietly, outscoring their region foe 17-11 in the fourth, though it wasn't enough.
Chad Corry led Canyon View with 16 points, which includes three 3-pointers. David Stone added six in the losing effort.
Hurricane's big men trio of Boston Gubler, Colton Marshall, and Tyler Kuhlman combined for 32 points and 13 rebounds.
Canyon View shot 30 percent from the floor (14-46), while the Tigers had a solid 43 percent (18-41).
"Offensively, it starts with our big guys, they're the strength of our team," Reeve said. "The ball needs to go inside first before we start settling for jumpers. But just as important is our defense. Even if you have an off night on offense, you can still make a difference with good 'D'. Against a good scoring team like Cedar, we're going to have to play tough team defense to win on their floor."
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