RENO - Carson High shook off the ill effects of its Friday night loss to Galena, and played one of its better games of the Sierra League season against Damonte Ranch on Saturday.
Unfortunately, the Senators were unable to overcome 32 points by Matt Nuthall and dropped a 60-58 decision to the Mustangs.
Carson fell to 3-7 heading into Tuesday's home game against Hug, while Damonte improved to 5-5, taking a two-game lead over Carson for the No. 3 playoff spot.
"I thought we played pretty well," Carson coach Bruce Barnes said. "We had a jump shot to win it and a layup to win and it just didn't go in."
Barnes was referring to the final few seconds of the hard-fought contest where his team had two chances to tie after Trey Jensen had sliced Damonte's lead to 60-58 with 33 seconds left.
Damonte turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, and Jensen had a chance to put the Senators ahead, but couldn't convert his wide-open 3-point attempt. Carson was forced to foul, and Gary Turk missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with :09 left to give the Senators another opportunity.
Carson had a timeout to take, but Barnes opted not to call one. Chance Quilling tried to drive to the basket and was fouled by O'Keefe Hall with :03 left. Brian Barnes inbounded the ball, but the pass appeared to go through Quilling's hands and Carson never got up a final shot.
Barnes said that Chris Steele and Quilling were the two options on the inbound play. It would have been tough for Quilling to even get up a shot because he was surrounded by Damonte defenders.
It capped a frustrating fourth quarter, which saw the Senators score four points and go just 2-for-9 from the floor after going 21-for-33 in the first three quarters. Carson led 54-48 after three quarters.
"We held the ball," Barnes said. "We were looking for layups. They were holding the ball, too."
The discipline that Carson showed for the bulk of the game was a far cry from the impatience it showed in the 23-point loss to Galena. Most of the shots Carson took came in the rhythm of the offense.
In the end, it was too much Nuthall, who assisted on Damonte's final two baskets by Michael Holmes and Armstrong. It also gave the Mustangs a much-needed split against Carson.
"We tried (to give it away again)," Damonte coach Torrey Sheets said. "I was worried (when we fell behind 11-0). We were coming off an emotional loss to Douglas, but the kids fought through it and I admire them for that.
"Matt is tough to beat from the 3-point line. He got us back into it the first quarter with those threes."
Carson hit its first six shots of the game to take a quick 13-2 lead, but two treys by Nuthall and one by John Carlson tied the game at 13. Baskets by Ty Keefer and Quilling gave the Senators a 17-15 lead after one quarter.
"We hit the shots," Barnes said. "We had some good looks."
A trey by Brian Barnes and a bucket by Tyler Collins gave Carson a 24-21 lead, but Nuthall tied it at 24 with a 3-pointer. Carson outscored Damonte 12-8 the rest of the half for a 36-32 lead. Nuthall was a one-man wrecking crew with 21 first-half points, as Carson tried several players on Nuthall without a lot of success.
The Senators used a 15-5 run to start the third quarter to build a 51-39 lead with 3:55 left. Jensen had five, while Chris Steele (12 points) and Keefer (8 points total) added four each in that stretch. Jensen finished with 11 points.
Damonte fought back with a 9-0 run of its own, slicing the deficit to 51-48 with 2:01 left. A free throw by Barnes (10 points) and a putback by Matt Cooper made it 54-48 after three.
"We had a couple of turnovers and a missed shot," Barnes said.
A bank shot by Cooper gave Carson a 56-48 lead with 7:39 to play, but those would be Carson's last points until less than a minute remained. Two treys by Nuthall, his only points of the quarter, tied the game at 56 with 5:14 to go.
At that point, both teams started to take time off the clock on each possession, and the Mustangs were able to make a few more plays down the stretch.
