Cameron Price drives the lane against a Reed defender on Tuesday.
Carson High’s boys basketball team heads to San Diego for a four-day tournament with a good head of steam.
The Senators used a 7-0 run to end the first half to build a double-digit lead en route to an easy win over an outmanned Reed squad, 42-25, Tuesday at Morse Burley Gym in a Division 1 crossover game.
Carson improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in league, while Reed, which played without starting center Devin Herbert and sixth man Lincoln Turner (both ill), dropped to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in league.
“We’re starting to get a good group out there,” senior guard Kyle Steele said. “Devin takes up a lot of space. He’s a good player. I’ve played with him before.”
‘We really wanted to get back on track and win a couple of game going into the San Diego tournament,” Carson coach Carlos Mendeguia. “We wanted to build some momentum.”
And, the Senators did it with tough defense. In the last two wins, Carson has given up an average of 32 points a game. Carson’s job was made easier without the inside presence of Herbert, who’s a consistent double-digit scorer.
“They still had 57 percent of their offense out there,” Mendeguia said, referring to guards Alec Leighton and ultra-quick Jamel Ramos. “When starters are out it’s not good, but Dustin (Hall, Reed coach) does a good job. He’s used to playing without guys.
“Leighton hit eight 3s (against Damonte) and Jamel is the best point guard in Northern Nevada. We knew what we were up against.”
Leighton did score nine, but Ramos tallied just four on buckets in the second and third periods.
Ramos’ first basket came with 6:13 in the first half and cut Carson’s lead to 16-12. It was all downhill after that for the Raiders, who ended the half 0-for-8 and a turnover in the last nine possessions. Carson scored seven straight to build a double-digit lead, 23-12, at the half. Carson’s lead would only drop under 10 once the rest of the way.
Asa Carter had a fastbreak layup and then Jace Keema worked hard inside to get two offensive rebounds. He was fouled on both, and hit two of four free throws to make it 20-12 with 3:18 left. Two minutes and three possessions later, Steele banged in a 3-pointer to make it a 11-point game after 16 minutes.
Mendeguia thought that six-minute stretch was the difference in the game.
“They are physical,” Reed coach Dustin Hall said. “They defend pretty well and they controlled the tempo. We didn’t take care of the ball very well. We couldn’t run any of our stuff. Right now we’re just a jump-shooting team, and that’s not a good thing.
“We hung around for a while. We were trying to shorten the game. We rushed a couple of shots and panicked a little bit. They had that run and it was too much to overcome.”
The game slowed down immensely in the third quarter, as the team combined for just 10 points. Carson went on an 8-2 run in the final six minutes for a 29-16 edge. Cameron Price, who led Carson with 11 points, had three free throws in that span, while Steele added a basket.
A 3-pointer by Grayson Young and a basket by Leighton, both in the first minute of the fourth quarter, trimmed Carson’s lead to 29-21 with 7:20 remaining. Over the next four minutes, Carson went on a 13-2 run to build its lead to 42-23 with 2:31 left. Steele had five points and Jared Rooker added four in that stretch. Carson finished on a sloppy note, turning the ball over on four straight possessions.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Sierra Lutheran falls
Sierra Lutheran lost to Sage Hill of Southern California 27-10 on Tuesday.
Grace Bonafrede scored four points and Cali Benton, Amy Westre and Leanna Temple all added two for Sierra Lutheran.
