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Tigers annihilate Clinton, 73-35, remain undefeated in WCC
Tuesday night’s West Central Conference matchup at Wynn Gym was never in doubt, as the Nevada Tigers obliterated the visiting Clinton Cardinals, 73-35.
The Tigers opened the contest on an 18-0 blitz, and led 22-2 at the conclusion of the first quarter — as Clinton misfired on its first 12 shots from the field.
Clinton’s offensive woes carried over into the second quarter, as the Tigers increased their advantage to 33-7, capping a 9-2 run, in which sophomore forward Dalton Gayman accounted for all of the Tigers’ points.
Nevada led 43-18 at the break. Nevada continued to pour it on in the third quarter, outscoring the beleaguered Cardinals 27-9. Junior guard Will Johnson’s deep 3-pointer as time expired in the third, handed Nevada a 70-27 cushion, as the Tigers rolled to victory.
The convincing conference win improves Nevada to 16-3 overall and 7-0 in the West Central Conference. This marks the second time the Tigers have defeated Clinton this season, having previously knocked off the Cardinals, 77-66 in a Dec. 5 road matchup.
“We discussed heading into the game, that when you’ve already beaten a team, that your biggest opponent is yourself,” said Nevada head coach, Shaun Gray, adding, “complacency is also a big opponent. Our goals going into the game, were to execute the scouting report, play our best basketball, to fight off that complacency — and to be a better version of ourself in every facet of the game.”
Gray said his club played with an edge Tuesday night, which carried over to the defensive end of the floor. Senior forward Trey Miller, Clinton’s leading scorer and most athletic player, was held to just seven points, all coming in the second quarter.
“Miller is way better going to his left than he is his right,” noted Gray. “And Hunter Mason just suffocated Miller most of the first quarter.”
Clinton had been firing on all offensive cylinders entering Tuesday’s contest, averaging 91 points per game over it three previous contests.
“Clinton is a team that makes a lot of 3-balls,” said Gray. “And we wanted those shots to be contested, to have a hand in their face. We were able to do that, and we also rebounded pretty well. That defensive effort and energy in the first quarter was pretty fun to watch.”
Dalton Gayman poured in a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second quarter, while also knocking down 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
“Dalton is a high-energy, physical player, that is hard to stop inside. And, he’s developed a jump shot,” said Gray. “When you put those two things together he’s pretty tough. Dalton’s matured as the season has gone along, and not forced quite as many things — and let the game come to him.”
Added Gray: “Dalton had a heck of a ball game. Not only scoring, but from a rebounding and passing standpoint as well. This is one he can really build on, and I think it’s just a glimpse of something we hope to see for a lot of games to come.”
Meanwhile, Nevada senior forward Clay Gayman dropped in 18 points in just two and a half quarters of court time.
“I think tonight was some of our best ball movement and sharing of the ball,” explained Gray. “You look at it, and Clay had a bulk of those points (14) in the first quarter. It wasn’t just ‘throw Clay the ball and let him go to work,’ there was lots of ball movement, inside and out. I was really pleased with the way we played, especially in the first quarter.”
JV and C-team
Combined with the Nevada Tiger varsity squad’s demolition of visiting Clinton on Tuesday — the Nevada junior varsity and C-team made it a clean sweep, with impressive victories of their own.
Nevada’s C-team kicked off Tuesday’s West Central Conference tripleheader at Wynn Gym, with a decisive 46-28 thumping of Clinton.
Nevada freshman forward Ben Hines’ 11 first quarter points sparked the Tigers to a 23-9 first quarter lead, and 36-14 halftime advantage, en route to the 18 point victory. Hines finished with a game-high 15 points, as the C-team improves to 8-1 overall.
Meanwhile, the Nevada junior varsity team (7-8) toppled Clinton, 46-41. Nevada sophomore forward Matt Thorp finished with a team-high 12 points, while Kayden Ast added nine, and Jayden Ast, 8.
Up next
A West Central Conference matchup with St. Michael's Catholic High School. The girls varsity game, set for a 6 p.m. tip off at Wynn Gym, precedes the boys varsity contest.