With the exception of a two-minute collapse late in the first half and a two-minute collapse late in the fourth quarter, there wasn't much more the Douglas boys' basketball team could have done better Tuesday night.
It was those two stretches, however, that made the difference in the ballgame as Reno came back from four down with three minutes left to take a 51-47 victory and claim the Sierra League title at Douglas High School.
"We just lost our focus," Douglas coach Rob Streeter said. "There's nothing more to it, they got tired and its my fault for not rotating them through better. They played their tails off and we just lost our discipline, lost our spacing, and a good team like Reno will make you pay for that."
Douglas was holding a 42-38 lead with a little over three minutes remaining when Reno's Olek Czyz made a layup and then was fouled on a dunk on the next possession.
He converted the bonus to put Reno upf or good, 43-42.
Reno wasn't done there, however, as the Huskies' stifling three-quarter court trap caused two consecutive turnovers which Reno converted into a 3-pointer from Czyz and a layup from Matt Freeman, extending the run to 10-0.
The team's traded two points apiece and then Douglas' Mike Gransbery hit a 3-pointer to break up the run with 43 seconds left, drawing the Tigers to within three at 50-47.
Reno's Roger Carlson would make one more free throw, but Douglas' Keith Olson rebounded the miss on the second shot and got the ball downcourt, but Douglas' 3-point attempt fell short. Reno was eventually able to run out the clock from there.
"Their ball pressure will wear you down, there's no doubt about it," Streeter said. "We had a great game and then we just lost our composure and couldn't recover."
The loss came on senior night for the Tigers, as Olson, Gransbery, Joe Nady, Nate Whalin, Jared Trowbridge and Brandon Bernard all played their last game in front of a home crowd.
A win Tuesday night would have clinched a home playoff game for the Tigers.
"I'm dissappointed for our seniors," Streeter said. "They worked very hard to get to this point and it would have been nice for them to be able to play a playoff game at home."
As it is, the Tigers will most likely be headed to Reed next week for the first round of the regional playoffs.
"This group was sophomores the last time they made the playoffs, and they played at Reed then, so we'll see what happens," Streeter said.
Douglas built a 16-13 lead though the first quarter and extended that to 23-16 early in the second with an Olson basket, a Gransbery 3-pointer and a Jeff Nady basket, but Reno turned up the intensity on its trap and went on an 11-0 run through the last three minutes of the half to take a 28-25 lead into the locker room.
Douglas recovered early in the third, matching the Huskies punch for punch out of the locker room and then rattling off an 8-0 run to take a 38-34 lead.
Carlson made a layup at the buzzer to close the score to 38-36 and the two teams managed just a field goal apiece through the first four minutes of the fourth before Reno went on its decisive tear.
Olson played strong for Douglas, with his future coach, Mike Adras of Northern Arizona in attendance. Olson led the Tigers with 15 points and had double figures in rebounds to go with four blocks.
Gransbery and Jeff Nady each had 11 points, James McLaughlin had four and Kevin Emm, Whalin and Joe Nady each had two in the loss.
Reno was led by Czyz, who scored 25 points, and Austin Morgan, who had 10.
Douglas dropped to 19-8 on the year and 9-3 in Sierra League play.
The Tigers next take on Wooster on the road Friday at 7 p.m. and close out the regular season Saturday at Damonte Ranch at 5 p.m.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
