by Joey Crandall
jcrandall@recordcourier.com
When a team that tends to make a large part of its living behind the 3-point line goes 0-for-6 from downtown, it says a couple things for the opposing defense.
For one, the defense only allowed six attempts from outside. And further, when the offense did get those shots off, the looks weren't good enough to go in.
That's what happened Friday night as Douglas cruised to a 62-43 win over Las Vegas-based 4A school Faith Lutheran in the second round of the Carson Valley Classic in Minden.
"Our kids came out and played hard, smart basketball for 32 minutes, straight through," Douglas coach Corey Thacker said. "There was no let up.
"We talked about their big shooter coming in and he's a good shooter. Our kids really steped up and guarded him.
"We had three or four different guys on him and he wasn't able to get many good looks. It was a good defensive effort for us."
The key, Thacker said, was solving an issue that has been plaguing the Tigers thus far in the season - foul trouble.
"That was big, we limited our fouls. We played smart defense and that allowed us to fall into a good rhythm. We were keeping the pressure on, but being smart about it.
"That's something we're going to continue to have to do as the year progresses."
Another key to the game was literally found in "the key" as the Tigers played one of their best games in terms of slashing to the hoop and getting points in the paint.
Douglas ran up a nice 8-0 run in the first quarter punctuated by a give-and-go along the baseline from Hunter Myers to Austin Neddenriep which Neddenriep was able to finish with a reverse layup.
That basket put Douglas up 12-2 with 2:26 left in the quarter.
"When we're slashing to the hoop, that really opens things up," Thacker said. "We want to get the ball in the key. Somehow, whether it be with a post or a guard, when we get the ball in there, a lot of options open up for us."
Forward Hunter Myers had four of his team-high 12 points during the run and forward Matt Thomas had a basket during the run to give Douglas an early cushion.
Faith Lutheran managed to close the gap down to five points at 18-13 early in the second quarter but Neddenriep, who had 11 points in the game for Douglas, nailed a 3-pointer with 4:22 left in the half.
Douglas held the eight-point lead heading into halftime at 27-19 and after Faith Lutheran cut the gap to six with a basket to open the third quarter, an 8-0 Tiger run essentially put the game away for good.
Myers scored three consecutive baskets during the run and Jorey Scott finished it off with a lay-up of his own to give Douglas the 35-23 lead with 4:13 left in the third.
Faith Lutheran's Brett Lubbe, who scored eight of his team's 12 points in the quarter and 13 of his 14 points in the second half, scored on a pair of unanswered drives to the basket to cut the score back down to 35-27.
Chris Downs came up big for Douglas, though, hitting a 3-pointer and drawing a foul, which he was able to convert, with 2:57 left in the quarter.
Douglas managed only three field goals in the fourth quarter and none in the final four minutes of the game, but took care of business at the free-throw line to seal the win.
The Tigers hit 13-of-16 shots from the charity stripe, including a string of 8 consecutive successful attempts.
Downs was 4-for-4 from the line in the quarter and Connor Hughes went 5-for-6 in the frame to lead the way.
Hughes matched Neddenriep's 11 points in the game, Downs finished with eight, Scott had seven and Thomas had six as 10 of 13 Tiger players put points on the board.
The Tigers improved to 4-0 overall on the year with the win and will take on Fallon Saturday night in the tournament finale.
Fallon, a 3A school off to a 5-0 start, upset Northern 4A No. 1-ranked McQueen in Minden Friday night.
"They're a great team," Thacker said of Fallon. "No one has held them to less than 75 points this year.
"They'll be a great challenge for us. Tonight, our kids just played good, smart basketball. We have to keep building on that and improving on it. We can't be satisfied to just start like this."
