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Carl Junction deals NMS eighth-graders first loss
Nevada Daily Mail
The visiting Carl Junction Bulldogs handed the Nevada Tigers eighth-grade basketball team a 40-29 setback Tuesday night.
With the loss, Nevada falls to 2-1.
The contest started out as a defensive battle, with the score knotted 5-5 at the conclusion of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs began to take control of the game early in the second quarter, as Spencer King's left wing 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run, putting Carl Junction on top 13-5 with 4:32 remaining in the first half.
After several defensive stops by both teams, Nevada sliced the deficit to 13-8, as combo guard Carter Swearingen dribbled around the perimeter, before burying a triple from the top of the key.
With 1:38 to play in the half, Swearingen hit l of 2 free throws to get the Tigers within four at 13-9.
The Bulldogs quickly responded, as Nakoa Warren's 3-pointer put Carl Junction out in front 16-9. A layup courtesy of Nevada's Bronson Smith closed the gap to 16-11 at the half.
The third quarter began much like the first quarter, with both teams unable to score. The first points of the quarter came two and a half minutes in, when Swearingen's perimeter drive resulted in a hard earned layup, cutting the Bulldogs lead to 16-13.
With 2:32 left in the third quarter, the lead was extended back to five when 6-foot-1 Bulldogs forward Trenton Smith came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for an easy lay-in.
On the ensuing inbounds pass, Swearingen leaked out, catching the pass and getting all the way to the basket, where he scored while drawing contact. Swearingen was off-target on the free throw, as the Tigers trailed 18-15 with just over 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
After a Carl Junction bucket to go up 20-15, Swearingen was again able to break full court pressure, getting all the way to the rim before being fouled. At the line, Swearingen hit l of 2, to make the score 20-16 with just over a minute to play in the third.
Nevada drew to within three points at 20-17, when forward Kayden Ast sank 1 of 2 free throws with 55 seconds to play in the quarter.
However, the Bulldogs closed out the half on a 7-0 blitz, getting a huge lift from guard Max Medley who was responsible for six of the points, burying two trey's from the right baseline, giving the Bulldogs a 26-17 advantage, and momentum heading into the final frame.
Just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, Swearingen brought the Tigers within six at 26-20, after sticking a three from the left wing.
On Nevada's next possession, Smith was sent to the line where he calmly knocked down both free throws, trimming the Bulldogs lead to 26-22.
Carl Junction was able to keep Nevada at arms length, as a tough inside basket from Ray Weston pushed the Bulldogs lead to 28-22 with 4:52 remaining in regulation.
Trailing 30-22 with just over three and half minutes left on the clock, Nevada's Matt Thompson caught a pass on the left block, pump-faked and went up for the score.
At the three-minute mark, Will Johnson came up with a back court steal, scored, and was fouled. After Johnson hit the free throw, Nevada trailed 30-27.
From that point, Carl Junction began to pull away, as Medley hit Weston on a back-door cut, putting the Bulldogs up 32-27.
Down the stretch, Carl Junction continued to utilize their full court press, causing multiple Nevada turnovers. After the dust settled, Carl Junction had increased their lead to 11, ending the game on a 10-2 run.
"We did things we wanted to do," Nevada head coach Lance Sargent said. "We got their big guy (Smith) into foul trouble. But we didn't make shots. And it's always hard when you don't make shots.
"That team hadn't lost a game in a year and a half. They're a good team, and I'm not displeased. We just played intimidated early."
Swearingen finished the night with a game-high 16 points.
"I told them, 'Guys, I don't ever like to single a guy out,' ---- but when I went into the locker room, I said, 'You played your tail off tonight,'" Sargent said of Swearingen's effort. "And he did, he was phenomenal. And that's the kind of effort we have to have all the time to be successful."
Sargent said he was impressed with Swearingen's ability to "make things happen."
"And that's what we need the other guys to start doing," he said. "And I told them that, I'm never going to candy-coat it."