RENO -- It remains a mystery to Carson boys coach Bruce Barnes why his team can't beat Wooster.
"I think we're a better team than but they've beaten us three times now, so I don't know," Barnes said. "We just don't shoot the ball well against them and I don't know why. It doesn't look like they do anything special."
Julian Hatcher had a woeful shooting night but still finished with 24 =and Sammie Jones added 15 as the Colts beat the Senators for the third time this season, 75-62 on Friday night at Wooster High.
The inside tandem of Jeremy Joustra and Sean O'Brien dominated Carson, which only has one player over 6-foot-3. Joustra and O'Brien, both over over 6-foot-2, combined for 25 points and blocked nearly 10 shots. That didn't bode well for the Senators, who were finding a hard enough time knocking down baskets without being harassed.
"I thought we missed a lot of easy shots," said Barnes, who team shot 21-of-66 from the field (32 percent). "We missed a lot of inside shots. I think where they really hurt us was inside. Their big guys seems to cause us problems. They just killed us. Those guys seem to always get 10, 12 points against us."
Hatcher had only seven points at halftime as Wooster led 33-30. But the Colts (11-10 overall, 5-4 league) ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run as they led 55-42 going into the fourth. The Senators (14-9, 7-3) were just 4-of-15 from the field in the third. Wooster, meanwhile, shot over 50 percent and Hatcher nine points in the quarter.
The Colts, who were coming off a one-point win over winless North Valleys on Tuesday, only allowed Carson to cut their lead under double digits twice in the fourth. Wooster went up 61-45 lead with six minutes left in the game after back-to-back baskets from Jones. But the Senators' Conrad Burt made 1-of-2 free throws with 4:35 to play, which got the lead under 10 points, 61-52.
But O'Brien came right back and converted a three-point play and Carson never got back under 10 points until Ed Jaquette made a layup with just over a minute remaining. The Senators, though, were never in this one once Wooster pulled ahead late in the third.
Ricky Correlli scored 20 points to lead Carson, which was playing without injured senior guard Ryan Henry, who will miss the rest of the season with a dislocated metacarpal in his left hand. Nobody filled Henry's void against the Colts and Barnes said there's no doubt his absence will be something the Senators will have to overcome.
"I think losing a two-year starter creates a lot of problems because it puts guys in position they're not used to," Barnes said. "It made a huge difference tonight. But he's not going to play anymore and somebody will have to step up and fill that gap or we're not going to be successful the rest of the season."
Curtis Dixon, who started for Henry, scored nine points for the Senators, who will play first-place Reno today at 5 at Morse Burley Gymnasium. Jason Alcasas and Andy Bohm both had seven. Carson lost despite holding Hatcher under his season average of 30.2 ppg, the leading scorer in the Northern 4A. But it will now have to turn its attention to the Huskies' David Padgett, who is second in the region in scoring.
