SPARKS - With no starter standing taller than 6-foot-3, perimeter shooting figures to go a long way in determining how well the Carson High School boys basketball team does this season. At the same time, the Senators are going to have to compensate for lack of size with their ability to run the floor and to play pressure defense from start to finish.
Each of those ingredients fell into place on Tuesday night when the Senators outlasted the Sparks Railroaders, 80-72, in a double overtime thriller at The Brickhouse that made Bruce Barnes a winner in his debut as Carson's head coach.
The debut may have seemed more like a roller coaster ride because the Senators were down by as many as eight points in the second quarter and trailed 53-49 with 4:03 left in regulation. And in between, Carson also led by as many as 24 points.
Shoot, it was such a good game, Barnes had no qualms about having to go through two overtime periods.
"We needed a little extra practice, we wanted to run up and down a little more, so we did a couple of those things on purpose to get a couple of overtimes in to get a good workout," Barnes deadpanned.
It was a good stepping stone to start the season, he went on.
"That was a tough one. If you're going to play double overtime, that's when you want to play it, at the beginning of the year to show guys what they need to work on, make the team step up and play," Barnes said. "Obviously we have a lot of things we need to work on, but if they keep playing hard, which I think they did, we'll be fine."
Four Carson players scored in double figures, led by Cody Longero with 24 points, Vincent Reymus with 19, Jeff Young 17 and Vincent Inglima. All four contributed in the clutch.
Trailing by two points early in the second overtime period, Longero sank two free throws to tie the score. Then Young stole the ball in the backcourt and Inglima fed Longero on a drive to the basket for two more points as the Senators took a lead they never relinquished.
Earlier, Longero converted two free throws with 9.0 seconds remaining in the first overtime to tie the score at 65-65 and force another period. And shortly before that Young's 3-pointer from the left corner off an inbounds pass from Reymus erased a two-point deficit and gave the Senators a 63-62 lead.
In the second quarter, Reymus and Young combined to knock down three 3-pointers to cap a 17-3 run that got the Senators back in the game. On the defensive end, Young and Chandler Allen combined on three steals and Reymus drew an offensive foul during a stretch in which the Senators turned a 16-8 deficit into a 25-19 lead.
"We came out flat but we picked it at the end. In the second we came out good, but then in the third quarter we went flat again, so we just need to learn to keep it up. We'll get there, this was just our first game," Young said.
The Railroaders, under the direction of new head coach Lyle Damon (Carson's head coach 1995-98), rallied back after they trailed 40-24 with 4:43 to go in the third period.
"There were a couple of times when I thought we could have put them away and we didn't, but don't take anything away from them, they kept coming at us and hitting big shots," Barnes said of the Railroaders. "If they continue to shoot the ball like that, they're going to be in a bunch of games, especially over here. As long as I've been coaching, it's always tough to win over here."
Brian Traversie, a 6-2 junior, led all scorers with 26 points for Sparks. Traversie scored 22 in the second half.
This was a good start for the Senators, who play their home opener Friday night against Elko.
"It wasn't the best game, there's some things we need to work on, but the bright part about this was coming back after we were down. We showed that perseverance could come through, especially at the end," said Longero, who shot 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
"Our strength is going to be getting down the floor and running. We're not very big but we've got some good athletes who can get down the floor," Longero said. "We're going to have to be able to outrun teams and be in better shape. If we do that, we'll be all right."
