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Tigers defeat Clinton at home
"That's a Clinton team that we knew was better than last year and has played a rugged schedule." Nevada Tigers head basketball coach John McNeley went into action Tuesday night expecting a close, evenly-matched contest as his Tigers took on the Cardinals of Clinton High School. That assumption looked to be far from correct in the beginning, but the Cardinals came to life in the final period to cut what was a blowout into just an eight-point loss as the Tigers took a 60-52 victory.
The Tigers came into the night with an overall record of 5-3 on the year and hoping to get back on the winning track after struggling in the Harrisonville tournament and ultimately dropping two of three games.
Both teams struggled to find their offensive rhythm early in the contest and the Cardinals were able to stay in the game through the first eight minutes, taking a 12-12 tie into the second period. Nevada senior Ross Wolfe took over the game from there as he put up 14 of his game-high 30 points in the second quarter to lift the Tigers to a 33-21 lead heading into halftime.
"Ross played well, but he could have played better," McNeley said. "He didn't shoot the ball as well as he can." Wolfe struggled as he shot 9-for-23 in the contest from the field with five 3-pointers, but had a very strong, 7-for-10 showing at the free-throw line.
As a team, the Tigers struggled from the field as they have throughout the year as they shot just 34 percent in the opening half. The Cardinals shot 41 percent in the half, but the Tigers were able to shut down the Clinton offense with staggering efficiency by attacking the offensive boards, holding the Cardinals to just 24 field goal attempts in the first 16 minutes.
The second half looked like an entirely different game as the Tigers' offense began to fall off substantially while the Cardinals went the other way.
Junior Collin Garvin seemed to take the entire Cardinals team on his back in the game's final period as he led them to winning the fourth quarter 20-13. That run proved to be too little, too late, however, as the Tigers had already worked their way to a 15-point third quarter lead and ultimately won the contest by a final score of 60-52.
Sophomore Joseph Ferry joined Wolfe as the only other player in double figures on the night as he went 8-for-16 from the field and 3-for-3 from the stripe for 19 points. For Clinton, Garvin led the way with 22 points while junior Logan Porta had 11.
The Tigers' JV was in action Tuesday night as well, but was unable to enjoy the same success as the varsity as they struggled in the second half on their way to a 52-29 defeat.
With that victory, the varsity Tigers improved their overall record to 4-5 on the year and will now get set for a shot at revenge against the team that handed them their first loss of the year as they take on the Tigers of Carthage tomorrow night at Wynn Gymnasium.