RENO - Beating Bishop Manogue was a pipe dream, but Carson High boys basketball coach Bruce Barnes certainly hoped for a better effort from his senior-laden team.
Carson turned the ball over 24 times and shot 34 percent from the floor in a 66-30 loss to the Sierra League champs Tuesday night.
The loss dropped Carson to 5-10 in league play heading into Friday's must-win road game at Galena. The Grizzlies and Damonte Ranch are 6-9. Carson has to win on Friday to even be part of a playoff otherwise the disappointing and painful season will be over.
The big question is, can the Senators file this one away and play the way they did against Wooster and Spanish Springs last week?
"It leaves a bad taste in your mouth," Barnes said. "They can either have that bad taste in their mouth and go out and play, or they can have that bad taste in their mouth and not respond.
"I'm hoping we have enough seniors and we should be able (to overcome this). Even if we win, we might end up in a play-in game (on Monday)."
One of the seniors Barnes alluded to, Matt Cooper, thinks the Senators have the grit to come out and beat Galena.
"I definitely think we can come back," said Cooper, who scored five points on Tuesday. "If we played like we did against Spanish Springs; play like we're capable of playing we are capable of winning that game."
Cooper and his teammates know that their effort Tuesday left a lot to be desired, and a win at Galena certainly would ease the disappointment of what's been a tough season.
Carson started the game cold and jittery. The Senators missed three of their first four shots and then turned the ball over on their next five possessions.
By that time, Manogue had built a 12-2 lead en route to a 14-5 edge after eight minutes.
"We had opportunities early," Barnes said. "We missed some layups; missed some easy shots and they are up 12-2."
Niles Lujan started the early surge with a runner in the lane, Zach McElroy converted a layup, David Zarubi tallied a bucket and then it was Lujan on a putback. Dakarai White ended the barrage with a putback.
"We did what we needed to do," Manogue coach Bill Ballinger said. "We got some easy baskets off turnovers. We created a lot of havoc and played Miners basketball."
Manogue outscored Carson 15-7 in the second quarter, going 6-for-11 shooting and carrying a 29-12 lead into the locker room. The Senators were just 5-for-18 shooting in the first 16 minutes.
It got really ugly in the third quarter, as Carson continued to struggle taking care of the ball and shooting it. Carson went 2-for-12 in the third quarter, and Manogue went on a quarter-ending 17-0 run in a six-minute span to increase its lead to 52-16 after three.
Brian Barnes led Carson with seven points, while Trey Jensen and Chris Steele added six apiece.
Ethan Dillard and Brennan Hogan led Manogue with 14.
