Canyon Also Finds Charity Begins on the Road, 66-60

Free throws? Friday night at Antelope Valley High, Canyon couldn’t get enough of them.

The visiting Cowboys made 22 of 28 from the line in a key 66-60 Golden League win over the Antelopes.

Free throws? Antelope Valley also couldn’t get enough of them.

The Antelopes had only five opportunities from the line, making good on just one, and didn’t find themselves in the bonus situation until 5 minutes 59 seconds remained in the game.

Canyon (11-6), which moved into first place with a 3-0 league record, was tickled pink. Antelope Valley (7-11, 1-2) was another shade of red.

“One team shoots 28 free throws and the other shoots five,” Antelope Valley Coach Skip Adams said angrily. “We couldn’t beat a junior high team with (that disparity).”

Canyon Coach Greg Hayes, who has never started a Golden League season with three wins in his nine years, didn’t mind at all. His Cowboys showed poise from the line all night and won their first game at Antelope Valley since 1987 by staying calm, bending their knees and following through.

“We’ve been working on it a lot,” Hayes said of free-throw shooting. “We hit some very big free throws. We had to make them and we did.”

After Antelope Valley’s Ryan Branch made a three-point basket with 1:19 left to tighten an always-close game to 61-58, Canyon’s Joe Ferguson and Tom Haggans went four of four from the line with less than a minute to play to ensure the win.

Canyon’s Jermaine Nixon scored a game-high 26 points, including five in the fourth quarter that extended a 54-52 lead to 59-52 with 4:32 left.

Nixon, who became the school’s all-time leading scorer earlier in the week, made eight of 10 from the free-throw line.

“He played like a veteran senior who, at this point, has nothing but team-oriented goals left,” Hayes said. “He has some special goals and dreams for this team and now he can concentrate on achieving them.”

Most of Nixon’s moves were countered by Antelope Valley senior Raynell Dunbar, who made eight of 10 first-half shots and finished with a team-high 23 points. Dunbar, at 6-foot-2, posted up against Canyon’s zone with authority and kept Antelope Valley in the game.