Desert Vista dominates Pinnacle in their season opener

Two of the top teams in the state squared off on Tuesday night in a game which guaranteed to showcase some of the hardwood talent Arizona has to offer.

The Pinnacle Pioneers behind strong play from Junior Drew Bender and Seniors Cody McDavis and Kevin Bowman, blasted out of the gates in the 2011-12 season beating every team in the Paradise Valley Invitational by double digits.

But the Pioneers were humbled on Tuesday night by an exceptional Desert Vista Thunder team who kicked off their 2011-12 campaign from Pinnacle High School, with a 70 to 55 win.

This game was about as fast paced as you will see at this level of basketball and because of it, turnovers were a plenty.  Desert Vista finished the night with 19 and Pinnacle had 20.  

The difference between the two teams at the end of the night, Desert Vista scored lay-ups off those turnovers and Pinnacle found it very hard all night to capitalize.

“These kids came out focused,” Desert Vista Head coach Dave Williams told pros2preps.com after the game. “The listened to our crazy mess and played excellent defense tonight.”

The Thunder had a monster effort from their senior forward, Eastern Washington commit Danny Powell, who finished the game with 20 points and dominated the paint on the offensive and defensive end of the floor.

“That kid is a beast.  He’s a beast!” Williams said about Powell.  “He might be the most polished High School player there is in Arizona.  The most college-ready player there is.”

Desert Vista guards Greg Carter and Grand Canyon University commit Jeff Lowery made outstanding contributions on the floor as well.

Pinnacle struggled to get things going on the offensive end all night.  The Thunder held the Pioneers leading scorer Drew Bender to just seven points. 

The one bright spot for the Pionerrs was the play of Cody McDavis who finished with 20 points on the night.

Pinnacle moves to 5-1 on the season and will look to get back to their winning ways this Firday vs. North Canyon.

Desert Vista, now 1-0, will look to pick up right where they left off as they travel to St. Mary’s on Friday.

For more coverage of Arizona High School Basketball, follow Jared Cohen on twitter at @JaredPros2Preps.