It wasn't a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination, but the Carson High boys won and kept their playoff hopes alive.
Behind the scoring of seniors Chris Steele and Brian Barnes, the blue-collar Senators outlasted Spanish Springs 51-44 Tuesday night at Morse Burley Gym in a Northern 4A crossover game.
"We showed some mental toughness down the stretch," Carson coach Bruce Barnes said. "I called in the seniors today at lunch, and I put it on them. I told them the next four games (including tonight) would determine whether they wanted to be in the post-season or not.
"We're playing in playoff mode right now. We have to win three of four. We're not going to blow anybody out. Every game we win is going to be a close game."
The win moved Carson to 4-9 in league, one game behind Galena which beat North Valleys Tuesday and is now 5-8.
Until midway through the fourth quarter, the biggest lead for either team was five points, and that was held by Spanish Springs early in the second half.
Ryan Swanson gave the Cougars a 35-34 lead with 4:12 left in the game, but that's the last time Spanish Springs would lead.
Trey Jensen gave Carson a 36-35 lead with 3:53 left, and then Barnes scored five straight points for a 41-36 advantage with 2:46 remaining. From there, the teams traded points until the final 12 seconds when Chance Quilling drained one free toss and Steele hit two to close out the scoring. Steele went 7-for-10 at the line and finished with 12 points.
Carson, which at times has had trouble holding onto the ball and milking the clock, did a nice job of that against the Cougars, who were forced to foul down the stretch.
"It's something you have to do," Barnes said. "Everyone has to be on the same page, though."
Barnes admitted that it helped his team when Swanson and Brandon DeLong, the Cougars' top scorers, both fouled out late in the game.
"They are a well-coached tam," said Spanish Springs coach Kyle Penney. "They spread it out, and we were chasing at that point. They outplayed us."
In the final four minutes of the first half, Spanish Springs went on a 7-0 run to take an 18-12 lead. Six of those points were by DeLong, who finished with 16. Last week, DeLong torched Douglas for 41 points.
"We played him straight up," Barnes said. "I thought Swanson hurt us a little more."
Buckets by Tyler Collins and Barnes, who finished with 13, cut the Cougars' lead to 18-16 at halftime.
An 11-5 run to open the second half gave Carson a 27-23 lead with 2:54 left. Jensen's basket tied the game at 18, and Steele, Barnes, Matt Nolan and Ty Keefer also scored in the surge. The Cougars' Tremor Shetrawski scored two straight baskets, tying the game at 27. A free throw by Steele gave Carson a 28-27 lead after three.
There were seven lead changes to open the fourth quarter before Carson went on its aforementioned 7-0 run to take a six-point lead.
