A postseason home game and second place in the Sierra League is at stake when archrivals Carson and Douglas square off tonight at Morse Burley Gym in a key Sierra League boys basketball game.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. following the Carson-Douglas girls game which starts at 5:15 p.m.
Carson enters the game at 11-2 while Douglas is 10-3. The Senators won the first game, 55-50 on Jan. 22.
If Carson wins it would have sole possession of second place and would host the third-seeded team out of the High Desert on Tuesday. If Douglas were to win tonight, the Tigers and Carson would finish with identical 11-3 records, but Douglas would win the tie-breaker because it won the second-half game and would host the first-round playoff game on Tuesday.
"We have to have a good inside game like we had the first time," Carson coach Bruce Barnes said. "And, we have to be able to rebound the basketball."
Douglas has three capable post players in Jorey Scott (8.9 points), Hunter Myers (7.4) and Matt Thomas (5.3). They will be a handful for Carson front-liners Pat Smith and Josh Peacock.
"Jorey is very active," Carson assistant coach Carlos Mendeguia said. "He runs the court well."
Mendeguia expects Douglas to apply plenty of defensive pressure, and he also expects Douglas to run 10 or 11 players at the Senators.
"We have to be able to handle their pressure, full-court pressure and half-court pressure," Mendeguia said. "They want to get their athletes up and running.
"They are bigger than us. Athletically top to bottom they are tough. They don't drop off much when they go to their bench. They can run and they can guard."
That also means that Carson will need a solid ballhandling effort from Andrew Johnson, Brian Barnes, Brennan Shaffer and Peacock.
Carson's forte has been good team defense, and Johnson has been especially pesky.
"There is a lot of incentive out there for both teams," Douglas coach Corey Thacker said after Douglas' win over South Tahoe earlier this week. "Carson's a great team and it'll be a great game. Homecourt advantage is huge in the playoffs so both teams are really going to be battling for it."
NOTES: Before the game, Carson will honor seniors Smith, Ean Witter, Shaffer, Peacock, Kevin Kurek and Ian Gunn ... The girls' squad will honor Gina Bianchi and Yvonne Hollett.
