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Tigers tumble to St. Pius X to open season
Nevada Daily Mail
Despite a valiant effort, the Nevada Tigers boys basketball team was handed a 60-51 defeat by the St. Pius X Warriors in their season opener Tuesday night at Wynn Gym.
Trailing 44-33 with 1:58 to play in the third quarter, Nevada went on a 10-0 run, which was sparked by sophomore shooting guard Matthew Sommer and freshman center Andrew Gayman.
"That (run) just speaks to our boys and the effort, energy and the poise that they have," first year Nevada head coach Shaun Gray said. "And never-give-up attitude. They didn't think they were out of it, I didn't think they were out of it, and they kept playing hard. I felt like we turned the corner."
Sommer cut the lead to 44-36 when he scored on a breakaway layup, which also resulted in a trip to the charity stripe, where he knocked down the free throw.
With 1:32 left in the third quarter, Sommer's drive and layup attempt rolled off the back rim, but Gayman corralled the rebound and want up for an easy bucket. In addition, Gayman was fouled after the ball went through the basket, and was awarded two free throws, where he hit both, slicing the Warriors lead to 44-40.
On the Tigers next possession, Gayman showed off his soft touch around the basket, hitting a 5-foot jumper, trimming the lead to 44-42.
Nevada had an opportunity to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, when guard Brandon Barker was fouled from beyond the arc. However, Barker was only able to connect on 1-of-3 free throws.
"We missed some free throws late," Gray said. "Brandon missed two big free throws there toward the end. And Clay missed his only free throw, in the fourth quarter."
The Warriors responded with a 6-0 run to go up 50-43. Needing a basket, Sommer came through with a steal at half court, and was fouled. His free throws made the score 50-45 with 5:00 to play in the game.
The Tigers drew to 50-47 when the 6-foot-4 Gayman hauled in a rebound and ran the fast break, dropping a pass into the lap of Sommer who put in the layup.
"Basketball is a game of runs," Gray said. "And that's one thing I said in the locker room, 'We're going to make a run, they're going to make a run.'"
The Warriors increased their lead to 54-48 when center Stephen Bradley's short jumper tickled the twine.
Not going away, Barker buried a triple from the right wing, shaving the St. Pius lead to 54-51with 2:08 to remaining in regulation.
The Tigers were unable to come up with a defensive stop, as Warrior forward Stephen Thompson's close range bucket put the Tigers in a 56-51 hole with 1:25 on the clock.
Looking to make it a two-point game, Barker's three-pointer from the left wing was off-target. The Warriors added late free throws to ice the game.
Early on, the Tigers had trouble containing guard Marshall Mason, who finished with 22 points. Mason scored 16 points in the first half, while making 7-of-10 free throws, to give the Warriors a 29-26 halftime lead.
"We didn't want to let him catch the ball, and unfortunately he did," Gray said of Mason. "We made him catch it on the perimeter. And then when he would drive, our help (defense) would be late.
"They defended him pretty well in the second half, and that's one of the things that helped us make that 10-0 run."
Sommer finished with a team-high 19 points, while going 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Gayman finished with 17, while Barker hit four 3-pointers to chip in with 13 points.
Gray said he was somewhat concerned with his team's free throw shooting, especially late. The Tigers shot 61 percent from the line, going 11-for-18.
"When you miss three free throws in the fourth quarter of a close game, it's never going to be good for you," he said.
Gray said he was impressed with the play of Gayman, who made his presence known on both ends of the floor.
"Clay is new to our district, new to our program," Gray said. "He came in this summer and worked his butt off. The Potential was there, we could see it with his athleticism. He looked good in practice, and it was just a matter of would he be able to do those things at the varsity level."
After just one game, the answer to that question appears to be a resounding "yes."
"When you play with that kind of energy and you play with that kind of passion, and you have the athleticism he has, good things happen," Gray said.
Gray said that coming into the season, Gayman lacked experience at even the junior varsity level. However, things have quickly changed.
"His playing time at the varsity level will only increase going forward," Gray said.
Along with his silky touch, Gayman also boasts a long wingspan, making him a potentially elite interior defensive player.
"You can make a mistake on defense, and he has the ability to clean it up with a block," Gray said. "He's a good rebounder. And on the offensive end, that rebounding ability allows him to get putbacks for us."
Gray said he was pleased with Sommer's season-opening performance.
"Matthew has a lot of talent," he said. "He played a lot for us as a freshman last year. And he's one if the better guards in the area. And you're going to see that same type of performance and effort from Matthew each and every night going forward."
Barker, who opened the game by knocking down a 3-pointer, was quiet in the second half after burying three treys in the first half.
"They were keying on him (in the second half)," Gray said. They didn't want him to have open shots. It's pretty well known that he's one of the best perimeter shooters in the area."
Gray said he plans on ironing out some kinks in practice, specifically on the defensive end.
"We've got to communicate better defensively," he said. "There were a couple times we got screened and we didn't know it was coming," he said. "And boxing out, and maintaining the box outs. You've got to maintain those box outs when the rebound goes long."
Gray debut
Gray said his first official experience as a head coach was an exciting one.
"I was very nervous," he said. "I didn't sleep much the night before. Before the varsity game I was a little tingly. But once the game started it was the same old thing, just passion for coaching.
"And it's tough to lose it when you feel like you had a chance. It may be a little tougher because it's the first one, and you want to win it so badly. It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to many more."
Junior varsity team
The Nevada junior varsity team fell 51-40 to St. Pius X.
Junior forward Derek O'Dell scored a team-high 20 points for Nevada.