WINNEMUCCA - Carson High's boys basketball team is off to its best start in recent memory after improving to 3-0 with two wins on the first day of the Lowry Tournament Thursday night.
Carson pounded two Division IA schools, North Tahoe, 58-5, and Truckee, 64-24. The Senators shoot for their fourth straight win of the season tonight at 7:30 against Lowry, Carson concludes play in the round-robin tournament Saturday morning at 10 against Virgin Valley.
"Lowry will be a test," Carson coach Carlos Mendeguia said. "They are ranked No. 1 in the state in their division."
The two wins were merely a walk in the park. Carson's pressure defense proved too much for either North Tahoe or Truckee to handle.
"It is what it is," Mendeguia said. "We came out and played hard. We got after it. All the kids got in, and that will really help down the road. I started my second unit in the second half."
Carson led 31-2 at the half, and cruised in the final 16 minutes. Once the Senators got ahead by 40, the clock went to running time.
Kyle Denning led Carson with 11, while Rafe King added seven, all of those coming in the first three minutes. Dylin Rooker chipped in six points, while Matt Nolan, Kyle Steele, Chris Lopez and Austin Shaffer added five apiece.
In the win over Truckee, Carson rolled to a 45-11 first-half lead. Again, Carson's pressure was too much for the outmanned Wolverines.
Nolan led Carson with 14 and King added 12. Bruce McIntosh scored seven and Alan Cohen added four.
"They didn't know much about us and we didn't know much about them," Mendeguia said. "They weren't ready for the pressure."
LOWRY GIRLS TOURNAMENT
LOWRY 48, DAYTON 29
WINNEMUCCA - The Dust Devils got off to a slow start, and dropped their opening round game to host Lowry.
Lowry, thanks to an effective press, rolled to a 29-9 first-half lead.
"They were tough," Dayton coach Cliff Serawop said. "They pressured us and the girls kind of hit the panic button I think. They scored a lot of their points off our turnovers. We tried to push the ball too quck."
Dayton did a much better job in the second half, actually outscoring the Buckaroos, 20-19, over the final 16 minutes.
"I'm really proud of the girls and the way they played in the second half," Serawop said. "We found some chemistry in the second half. We protected the ball a lot better."
Maribel Ledezma led Dayton with eight points, while Taylor Ingersoll added six. Cheyenne Strong chipped in five points.
