Depth pays off for Carson boys
Dave Price
With top scorer Jason Alcasas sitting out due to an injury, the Carson High School boys basketball team needed somebody else to come through and pick up the slack Tuesday night.
As it turned out, a handful of players produced key contributions that helped the Senators post an important 64-55 Sierra League victory against Wooster at Morse Burley Gymnasium.
Four players scored in double figures to help the Senators win a game that was closer than the final score shows. And it was a win coach Bruce Barnes described as pivotal because the Senators improved their league record to 2-2 (10-9 overall) and moved into a fourth-place tie with Wooster in the standings.
"That was a good team win in a big game," Carson coach Bruce Barnes said. "I was proud of their effort and determination because there were a few times when it looked like the game could have gone either way and they made some big plays."
While Alcasas watched from the bench with an injury to his mouth sustained Saturday against South Tahoe, senior forward Rory Wunsch ran into early foul trouble that took him off the court in the first half and again at the outset of the fourth quarter.
"We had some guys come off the bench and really step it up," Barnes said.
Wunsch scored 13 points to lead a balanced offense for Carson, while Brian Welch contributed 12 points, Tsuyoshi Curtis came off the bench to score 11 and senior point guard Jeffrey Hurzel scored 10.
There were other contributions as well. Kyle Bacon had seven points and four assists. Adam Houghton scored five, including a clutch 3-pointer in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. And 6-5 sophomore Harith Shakir came off the bench to contribute five rebounds and six points.
"He helped us with his defense and rebounding, which was what we needed," Barnes said of Shakir. "We would have been in trouble if they had been able to play volleyball all night, so his rebounding was important, and with his size, he made them alter their shots when they tried to go inside."
Welch, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, pulled down 12 rebounds and Bacon had six as the Senators held their own underneath the glass against the taller Colts.
"This one hurts. This was one that was within our reach," Wooster coach Kyle Penney said. "Their five guys just played harder than our five guys."
The lead changed hands seven times before Carson took charge with a 15-2 run during a five-minute span in the fourth quarter.
Wooster took a 46-44 lead after Joey Golaw grabbed a rebound and then fired in a 3-pointer at the outset of the fourth quarter. Carson answered with a big shot of its own when Houghton took a pass from Curtis in the right corner and buried a 3-pointer to make it 47-46. The Senators never trailed again.
"We needed that one," Barnes said. "They had made a nice run on us and they'd played good defense in that series, then Adam's 3 seemed to take a little wind out of their sails."
Wunsch followed with a pair of free throws, then fed Houghton for a layup as the Senators extended their lead to 51-46. Curtis knocked down a pair of free throws after Carson's defense forced a Wooster turnover. Moments later, Hurzel came up with a takeaway that led to a Curtis layup that made it 55-46 with 5:17 remaining to play.
Carson shot 13-for-16 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, including six shots without a miss by Welch.
Golaw led all scorers with 19 points and Sammie Jones scored 14 for Wooster. Golaw, a fourth-year varsity veteran, connected on four 3-pointers, three in the final quarter.
