PREP: Hug too fast, athletic for Carson boys

Hug is one team Carson High's boys basketball team will always have trouble matching up against.

Hug is too fast and too athletic, and the Hawks showed that Tuesday night with an easy 63-45 win over the Senators at Morse Burley Gym.

Carson dropped to 3-8, while the Hawks improved to 9-2.

"They're very quick; obviously the quickest team in our league," Carson coach Bruce Barnes said. "In every spot they are quicker than us.

"We missed some open shots early in the first half and started to play a little tentative. We need to take care of the ball better. We had a lot of unforced turnovers."

When you think Hug, you think offense, but the Hawks' defense is tough, too.

Barnes said the difference between Hug's defense and Bishop Manogue's defense is that Hug freelances a little more at the defensive end, while Manogue's defense is a little more planned out.

"I don't think our defense is under-appreciated," Hug coach Charles Walker said. "I think our strength is our defense."

It was too much for Carson. The Senators went 4-for-21 from the floor in the opening half and turned the ball over 10 times. Those two reasons alone were why the Hawks led 36-14 at the half.

Hug used a 19-2 run in the first 5:06 of the second quarter to open a 33-9 lead. Robin Dhatt rifled in three 3-pointers in that surge. Norris Dupree and Jaevis Johnson contributed baskets in the barrage.

Dhatt led the Hawks with 14 points, while Jaevis Johnson added 13.

"He (Dhatt) is their best 3-point shooter," Barnes said. " We were going to give (long) shots to everybody else."

Dhatt's success was because Carson was unable to stay in front of Hug on defense, especially former CHS point guard Andrew Johnson, who is running the Hawks' offense this year. Johnson had six of his 12 points in the first half and penetrated often.

The only Carson players to score in the first half were Brian Barnes with nine and Matt Nolan with five. And, it took a late five-point surge for the Senators to eclipse the 10-point mark in the opening 16 minutes.

The Senators did a much better job offensively in the third quarter, outscoring Hug 17-10 to slice the lead to 46-31 after three. Chris Steele had eight of his 10 in the third, while Brian Barnes added four of his team-high 15.

"In the second half we competed," Barnes said. "We attacked the basket. When you try to run set plays against them, if one guy can't get open it throws the play off."

An 8-3 run late in the game helped cut the deficit to 13 points, 58-45, with 2:04 left. From the last five minutes of the first half to the end of the game, Carson never got closer than 13 points.

Walker was disappointed with the way his team played in the final 16 minutes. He blamed things on his team's lack of experience, saying it has had problems in the past after building substantial leads.

What's scary is that this could be a preview of an opening round playoff game. Of course Carson has to get a few wins between now and then. With five games left, Barnes believes his team will have to come up with at least three wins to qualify. The schedule isn't easy with Manogue, Douglas, Galena, Spanish Springs and Wooster left.

"I'm not worried about seeing Hug again," Barnes said. "They are probably going to win that side. They have already beaten McQueen twice. We just need to build on what we did in the second half."