Nevada Tigers fall in home contest
NEVADA, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers basketball team has been plagued by a short roster all season long and were finally able to play at full strength for the first time as they hosted the Pleasant Hill Roosters at Wynn Gymnasium Friday night.
Both defenses came out firing in the early minutes of the game, not allowing the other team's offense a chance to get much going. Both Pleasant Hill and Nevada seemed a bit flustered to start the game by the intense defensive pressure, able to get decent looks but rarely able to convert.
Nevada's defense was able to put up seven steals in the opening frame and seemed to have the Rooster offense a bit off balance. By the time the buzzer sounded, the Tigers found themselves on the high end of a low scoring first period, leading 8-5.
Both teams were rebounding the ball very well on both ends of the court and the Roosters kept up their strong defensive pressure through the second quarter. Both teams continued their obvious rebounding prowess, but Pleasant Hill was better able to turn those rebounds into points and went into the locker room with a 17-12 lead.
"In the first half, I thought we were solid defensively," Tiger head coach John McNeley said. Poor ball control and questionable passing by the Tigers, however, coupled with six steals in the period by Pleasant Hill allowed the Roosters to finally gain control of the game going into the second half.
The third quarter told a similar story to the first half as both teams were able to continue their intense defensive pressure. Neither team shot well in the third quarter, but the Roosters were able to open up the game with treys on three consecutive possessions and took a 26-14 lead into the final frame.
Nevada's shooting woes continued throughout the rest of the game, as they were able to get several good looks, but shots simply would not fall. Both teams continued to rebound the ball very well for the remainder of the game, but Nevada's poor offensive showing allowed Pleasant Hill to open the game up even more on their way to a 43-20 victory.
The offensive effort in the contest for Pleasant Hill was led by Nathan Ederer with 10 points, while Nevada was unable to get anyone into double figures. Parker Richardson led the effort for the Tigers, finishing the night with seven points.
After the game, McNeley said, "It was very much a possibility that this game would turn out like this. Six games into the season, we're doing some things we shouldn't be doing and we need to leave those things behind."
The Tigers were plagued by turnovers all game long, finishing out the night with a less than stellar total of 23, but McNeley is still confident that they can improve as a team. "This is a group that has a desire to get better," he said. "I don't know how much better we'll get."
With that loss, Nevada falls to 0-6 on the year and will hope for some redemption as they head into the final game before the winter break -- a makeup contest on the road against Girard High School in Girard, Kan.