Nevada boys lose final home game 63-58

By Greg Kepler

Special to the Daily Mail

In their final home game of the season, the 6 and 16 Nevada Tigers looked to win in front of the home crowd on Tuesday night. A large crowd watched as the seniors took on a tall team from Sedalia Smith-Cotton.

Both teams came out gun-shy, but it was Nevada that struck first when senior Easton Mitchell scored a field goal with 6 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter. A minute-and-a-half later, after a steal, he pulled up and let fly with a three-pointer, giving Nevada a 5-0 lead. At 3:08, Junior Brandon Barker took a shot from the post, making it and giving Nevada a 7-2 lead. The visitors came right back and countered with two of their own. Mitchell made two more for Nevada with 2:42 showing, increasing Nevada's lead to 9-4. That would do it for Nevada's scoring for the quarter as they held on to a 9-8 lead as the buzzer sounded.

Shooting went cold for Nevada in the second quarter as Sedalia took the lead and expanded it to 17-9 before Barker ended the drought with a lay up at 2:27. Those would be Nevada's only points of the session as Sedalia took a 23-11 lead to the locker room.

During half-time, former NHS standout Matt Ketterman was honored by being inducted into the NHS Wall of Fame. As Ketterman's parents and other family looked-on, Lyle "Catfish" Catron glorified him by reading his accomplishments as a student athlete while attending high school in the late 1980's. Also in attendance was his former baseball coach, Chris Adams.

Coach John McNeley's Tigers were able to chip away at the deficit in the second period when senior Kalen Bradley got on the board with a field-goal followed shortly at 6:29 by two free throws from Mitchell. At 6:07, Barker added two, drawing a foul, but was unable to connect on the charity toss. At 5:50, senior Kegan Bell stripped the ball from the visitors. He missed his layup but Bradley followed the shot with a rebound and put back, making the score 25-19. Mitchell quickly stole the ball again and made a lay up count, closing the difference to four with 5:20 remaining. After a traditional three-point play by Smith-Cotton, he drained another field goal, keeping Nevada within five at 28-23.

The rest of the quarter was back and forth scoring with Nevada countering the height of the opponents with their high-energy, yet patient pursuit of good shots. At 3:52, Barker got his first trey of the evening and immediately dropped in another pair on the return trip closing the difference to three at 31-28. Four quick points from Sedalia sent the score to 35-28 before Nevada senior Devion Leavell got on the board with a deuce. Four more points, including two free throws from Sedalia gave them a 37-30 lead but Mitchell added a pair right before Sedalia closed out the half with a field goal, giving them a 41-32 lead at the buzzer.

Opening of the final stanza saw a recharged Nevada squad hit four three-pointers in a row within the first three minutes of play. With only 15 seconds off the clock, Barker drained the first and 45 seconds later, Mitchell added three of his own. Exactly one minute later, he "treypeated" with another and at 5:10, Freshman Matthew Sommer added a long ball for another quick three. A tenacious visiting Sedalia squad matched tit-for-tat, maintaining the lead, but only by four until 3:46 when Barker let go with another three, followed by a field goal from Leavell, making the score 51-48 Sedalia with 3:30 remaining. At 3:02, Mitchell made yet another trey to tie the ballgame at 51 all and brought the crowd to its feet. Sommer then fouled Sedalia's Jacob Bergman who missed his free throw. Mitchell then stole the ball and watched as Keegan Bell converted the turnover into two, giving Nevada a 53-52 lead.

That lead was short-lived as Sedalia poured in three unanswered field goals and a free throw before Mitchell scored another long ball for Nevada, bringing his team within three at 59-56 with 18 seconds on the clock. Sedalia answered with a field goal and a free throw, extending their lead to five. Bradley added a field goal for Nevada with four seconds left, but it was for naught as the Tigers ran out of time. Sedalia made the first of two free throws as time ran out on Nevada, watching Sedalia win 63-58. This was Coach John McNeley's final home game (for now) as he steps into the position of athletic director next year.

The Nevada squad travels to Webb City Thursday night for a contest with the Cardinals, game time set for 7:30 p.m.