In his last playoff game, Arcadia HS 6-foot-2 senior guard Larry Lewis poured in an impressive 38 points.
He would not slow down Wednesday evening in a 80-67 Division-II quarterfinal playoff win over Tucson's Salpointe HS, as the star guard would rain another monster scoring performance - but this time it would be against a much stronger opponent.
A very talented Salpointe HS (24-7) team held tough early in the game against #1 seed Arcadia HS (24-6), actually taking a 14-13 lead after the first period.
Larry Lewis would get hot in the second period, knocking down shot after shot to keep the game close for Arcadia. Salpointe's 6-foot-5 senior Shawn Soelter would also get red hot - connecting on 5 three-pointers in the first half.
Salpointe would take a 37-35 lead at the half after a layup at the buzzer from talented 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Cameron Denson after a steal.
Larry Lewis would finish with 22 first half points, and eventually an eye-popping 42 points in the game.
After Salpointe would keep the game very close in the third period, and with Arcadia holding on to a 57-52 lead heading into the fourth period, the Titans would get it going in the game's final period.
Arcadia would take a 59-52 lead with 7:20 left to play, after a floater in the lane by 6-foot-2 senior guard Andrew Naderer. Then a three-pointer from Lewis, a steal and a layup from Lewis, a three-point play from 6-foot-5 senior Terrol Wilson and another layup from Lewis and Arcadia would take a 77-64 lead with 1:54 remainning in the game.
Arcadia would cruise to a 80-67 playoff win - advancing to the Division-II semi-finals Thursday where they will face a very talented and strong Peoria HS team at Grand Canyon University.
The game will feature two of the state's best talents and also two USC commits, as former USC commit, Arcadia's Larry Lewis will be matched up against current USC commit, 5-foot-9 senior Dewayne Russell of Peoria HS.
Playoff Notes: Peoria's Dewayne Russell finished with 24 points and 5 steals as #4 seed Peoria held off defending 5A-II champion and #5 seed Fairfax HS, 55-53, Wednesday in the Division-II quarterfinals at Arizona State's Wells Fargo Arena.
Russell's two free throws with 19 seconds left gave Peoria a four-point lead, and the eventual victory, despite two 3-pointers in the final 26 seconds by Fairfax 5-foot-9 senior point guard Lejon Johnson.
