MINDEN -- It was no secret what the Douglas High School boys basketball team was going to do defensively against Reno on Friday night -- focus on 6-foot-11 senior center David Padgett and try to force somebody else to pick up the slack on offense for the Huskies.
As it turned out, nobody else was needed.
Padgett had 34 points to go with 13 rebounds and three blocked shots as the Huskies overpowered Douglas 61-28 in the Sierra League opener for both teams.
Padgett, who has already signed a basketball letter with Kansas, literally scored from everywhere for Reno (7-3 overall, 1-0 league). He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, both during a game-breaking 15-0 run during the final five minutes of the first half. He had three dunks. He also drew fouls, although if there was a down side to his performance on the night, it was his 6-for-13 shooting from the free throw line.
And all the while, Douglas (4-11, 0-1) were never able to get their offense untracked in either half. The Tigers only scored two points in the second quarter and trailed 30-10 at halftime. It never got any closer than that after the intermission.
The game was close early. The Tigers trailed 13-8 after one quarter and were still within 15-10 after sophomore Travis Stuman went inside for a twisting layup with 6:02 left in the second period.
That's when Huskies and Padgett took off. After sinking a pair of free throws with 5:06 showing on the clock, Padgett was left wide open on top of the key and buried a 3-pointer as Douglas coach Keith Lewis called for a time-out with Reno leading 20-10. Padgett scored on a tip-in, then took a pass from Mike Ortega and buried another 3-pointer from the top. Chris Stanko's 3-pointer from the left side in the final two seconds extended Reno's lead to 30-10 at halftime.
The Huskies knocked down seven 3-pointers as a team during the contest.
Luke Rippee and Stuman scored six points each to lead Douglas offensively. Rippee hit a 3-pointer and followed moments later with a driving layup to tie the score 5-5 with 5:41 left in the first quarter -- the only time the Tigers would find themselves even all night.
Reno was coming off a 51-46 win against Hillcrest, Alabama, in the Tip-Off Classic division championship game at the Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, Del., on Monday.
