Douglas boys hoops upset Wooster

RENO -- Don't count out the Douglas High's boys' basketball team just yet.

The Tigers, coming off a heartbreaking loss to North Valleys on Tuesday night, put themselves back in the playoff hunt with a 67-54 win over Wooster Friday night.

Douglas is 2-4 after the first half of Sierra League play, and coach Keith Lewis said his team must go at least 4-2 in the second half to have a chance at the fourth playoff spot.

"This is a big victory," said Lewis, whose team withstood a 31-point effort by Julian Hatcher. "I hate to use the cliche that this was a team victory, but it really was. We had a lot of guys do some big things.

"I thought Luke (Rippee) did a good job on Hatcher. He's going to get his points. I thought we did a good job on their other guys."

As usual Nick Summers led the Tigers, scoring 18 points. However it was the play of guys like Chris Honer and Anthony Walker that had Lewis excited.

Honer, not known for his scoring, scored eight points and pulled down four rebounds. Walker, who has improved tremendously since the season started, contributed nine points. Five of those points came in the first 67 seconds of the fourth period, enabling the Tigers to grab a 50-44 lead.

The closest Wooster could get was 56-52 with 3:05 left. Douglas outscored the Colts 11-2 the rest of the way.

WOOSTER 61, DOUGLAS GIRLS 54

Brianne McGowan and Andrea Lazzari scored 20 points apiece to lead the host Colts past Douglas, snapping the Tigers' four-game Sierra League winning streak.

"They deserved to win," Douglas coach Werner Christen said. "We didn't play well, and they outhustled us. They seemed to get every loose ball."

Despite turning the ball over a whopping 27 times, the Tigers had their chances. Three times the Tigers closed the Colts' lead to one (46-45, 51-50 and 53-52). Lazzari proved to be a thorn in the Tigers' side down the stretch. She drove the lane and scored to make it 55-52 with 1:30 left, and then added two free throws to make it 58-52 inside the final minute.

The loss offset the fine shooting of Douglas' Julie Gingrich, who scored 29 points. She had five three-point baskets.