Nevada freshmen fall at Carthage

CARTHAGE -- The Nevada High School freshman boys' basketball team got back into action on the road Thursday night, hoping to get back to its winning ways against the Tigers of Carthage High School. That was not to be, however, as head coach Shaun Gray's Tigers ultimately fell by a final score of 45-36.

"(We) got off to a slow start, took bad shots and didn't defend well," Gray said. "With a different looking lineup tonight, it took us a while to find our groove."

Gray was forced to play without the best player on his team, as Matt Sommer was at Wynn Gymnasium with the varsity squad. Sommer's absence was felt right from the start, as Carthage opened the game with a 12-3 first quarter.

Nevada was able to shave one point off of that lead in the second quarter, but still found itself trailing by eight at 21-13, heading into the locker room at halftime. That deficit shrank by one more point in the third quarter as Nevada won the period, 10-9, to send the contest into its final 8 minutes with the home team on top, 30-23.

Carthage got both of those points back in the fourth quarter, however, edging Nevada, 15-13, to take the nine-point victory.

"(We) settled down after the first quarter and played tough the rest of the game,"Gray said. "The hole we put ourselves in early was to much to dig ourselves out of."

Patrick Ferry led the offensive effort for Nevada, as he finished the contest with 20 points. John Quitno added six, while Tyler Ketterman had five, Myles McNeley finished with three and Payton Bright and Blayde Dodds each had one.

"I was proud of the way our guys kept fighting and battled back," Gray said. "We cut the lead to five and six in the second half, but unfortunately, could never get a lead.

Thursday's contest was the last for more than a week for Gray's squad. The next game on Nevada's schedule isn't until Jan. 28, when the Tigers return to Wynn Gymnasium to take on the Wildcats of Bolivar High School.

Tipoff in that contest is set for 7 p.m.