Huskies pull away from Senators down stretch
Dave Price
The Reno High School boys basketball team clinched outright possession of the Sierra League championship with its 63-51 victory against Carson on Tuesday night. But there was more to this game than the final score showed.
"That wasn't a double digit game," Reno coach Eric Swain said. "This is an extremely tough place play. Douglas lost here and Hug pulled one out in the last minute. They take a lot of pride in the way they play here, so we feel fortunate to have escaped with a win tonight."
Senior guard scored 20 points, including four 3-pointers in the first half, and 6-foot-6 sophomore J.J. Mulligan scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Reno (10-1 league, 17-8 overall) break open what had been a closely-contested game at Morse Burley Gymnasium.
Carson (5-6, 13-13) maintained its hold on fourth place in the league standings, one game ahead of Wooster. Regardless of the outcome, Carson coach Bruce Barnes was pleased with the effort given by the Senators on Senior Night.
"I was proud of the effort they gave," Barnes said. "They competed well for their last home game of the season. It just didn't go our way."
Reno led 35-31 at halftime and 45-41 at the end of three quarters. The Senators were still within striking distance and had an opportunity to perhaps make it a one-point game near the midway mark of the fourth quarter - only to be denied.
The turning point came when Carson senior Jason Alcasas, who scored 20 points on the night, drove for a basket one-on-one against Reno's Scott Jeannes, and drew a whistle in the process. Unfortunately for the Senators, Alcasas was assessed a charging foul in what amounted to a momentum-breaker.
"I thought we were where we wanted to be in the fourth quarter. It looked like Jason was going to be at the line shooting for a three-point play, and that would have made it a one-point game," Barnes said. "The call didn't go our way, and after that, we had to play man defense and they're just too big for us."
Swain said he felt fortunate that call went in favor of the Huskies.
"I honestly thought it was a no-call," Swain said. "Jeannes did a good job of hustling back to make a play, and you had two kids competing for the ball. I guess it just went our way that time."
Alcasas scored 11 points in the first quarter and Rory Wunsch scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half to help Carson stay within striking distance.
Meanwhile, the Senators used an effective zone defense to contain Reno's inside attack.
"Bruce always makes it difficult," Swain said. "His guys re so well coached, they took away our strength. We've got some guys who can shoot and we hit some shots in the first half, and as a result, they had to come out and then that opened the middle for us."
The Huskies connected on nine shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Jeannes had four of those, all in the first half.
"They did a good job of attacking our zone," Barnes said of the Huskies. "They shot very well, especially in the first half."
Carson concludes its regular season Friday night with a 7 p.m. game against arch rival Douglas in Minden.
