Freshman boys fall to Neosho

NEOSHO, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers freshman boys' basketball team got back into action Monday night, in what head coach Shaun Gray knew would be a tough contest against the Wildcats of Neosho High School. By the time all was said and done, the Tigers came up just short, falling by a final score of 50-48, in overtime.

"We led the entire game," Gray said. (We) had an outstanding, all-out effort."

The Tigers opened the contest with a 13-4 lead after the opening quarter. Neosho closed that gap a bit, but still wasn't really able to do much for the remainder of the half, ultimately sending Gray's squad to the locker room with a 19-11 lead, at halftime.

The second half and overtime were a different story as Neosho's perimeter shooting took over the contest. A total of seven 3-pointers in the second half and overtime allowed the Wildcats to outscore Nevada, 39-29, to take the victory.

Matthew Sommer led the offense for the Tigers in the contest with 20 points and was joined in double figures by Myles McNeley, who finished with 10. Tyler Ketterman added six, while John Quitno had five, Payton Bright four and Patrick Ferry three.

"(I'm) very proud of the way we played," Gray said. "I thought we did enough to win. A couple calls didn't go our way late and Neosho made big shots. Hats off to them.

"If we play them 10 times, I think, our guys win eight or nine times. Tonight wasn't our night and we can't make excuses for that. We just have to keep playing well and stay positive."

The Tigers won't have to wait long for their next chance to "keep playing well and stay positive," as they are scheduled to be back in action on Friday, hosting the Bulldogs of El Dorado Springs High School on Courtwarming Night, inside Nevada High School's Wynn Gymnasium.