Tigers knocked off by Harrisonville in district tournament

The Nevada Tigers varsity basketball team fell to the Harrisonville Wildcats 79-63 in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 13 basketball tournament Tuesday night in Clinton.

With the loss, the Tigers conclude their season 14-11 overall.

After receiving a first-round bye. the second-seeded Tigers got off to a scorching start against the sixth-seeded Wildcats, opening the game on a 10-1 blitz.

With 3:05 to play in the first quarter, sophomore center Clay Gayman buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, as Nevada went on top 16-5. The Tigers then grabbed their biggest advantage of the evening when junior Myles McNeley connected from long-range, putting Nevada up by 14.

"We did some good things offensively in the first half," Nevada head coach Shaun Gray said.

Harrisonville was able to quickly get its deficit back into single-digits, as seniors Parker Peck and Mateo Gonzalez hit back-to-back triples, trimming the Tigers lead to 19-11.

The second quarter opened with an Andrew Heathman drive and kick-out to McNeley in the right corner for the trifecta, as Nevada led by a dozen.

From there, Harrisonville scored 11 unanswered points, trimming the Tigers lead to 23-22 as Gonzalez began to score in bunches.

After seeing its double-digit lead evaporate, Gayman gave the Tigers some breathing room with a traditional three-point play, to go up 26-22.

Late in the second quarter, Nevada point guard Matt Sommer knocked down a 12-foot jumper followed by a pair of free throws from the junior, giving the Tigers a seven-point cushion, as they took a 33-26 lead at the half.

Early in the third quarter, a 6-0 run was capped with a Heathman lay-in, as Nevada upped its lead to 39-28.

Gonzalez then caught fire, connecting on back-to-back jumpers, followed by a step-back 3-pointer to slice the Tigers lead to four at 39-35.

Harrisonville's other sharpshooter, Peck, began to heat up, draining a trey from the right-wing, as the Tigers lead was whittled to 39-38.

Nevada followed by rattling off four quick points, via a Sommer lay-up and Gayman dunk to take a 43-38 lead.

Late in the third quarter, Peck sank a trey from the deep-wing, as the Wildcats trailed 47-46. The offensive fireworks continued at the other end of the floor, as Gayman swished an 18-foot jumper to put Nevada up three.

Four consecutive Harrisonville free throws handed the Wildcats its first lead of the night at 50-49.

The third quarter ended with a flurry of action, as guard Zach Gardner knocked down a three from the left corner, followed by a Gonzalez length of the court drive and basket as time expired, tying the score at 52 apiece entering the fourth quarter.

Trailing 56-52 early in the final frame, Peck again connected from downtown, as the Wildcats trailed 56-55. Harrisonville then began to turn up its defensive pressure resulting in several Nevada turnovers, as the Wildcats reeled off the next 10 points to go up 65-56, capped by a Peck breakaway lay-up with 2:27 remaining in regulation.

A Sommer three with 2:18 left to play shrunk the Wildcats lead to six at 65-59. Harrisonville however, was money from the free throw line the rest of the way, as they cashed 28-of-30 charities on the night en route to the 16 point victory.

For Harrisonville, Gonzalez poured in a game-high 32 points, while Peck added 29, accounting for 77 percent of the Wildcats scoring.

"We knew coming in that Mateo and Parker were two very good basketball players capable of doing a lot,". Gray said during his post-game radio interview. "I can't help but think that we got a little complacent and lulled ourselves to sleep (when we held double-digit-leads)."

Gray said his squad was "a little sloppy in the second half."

"We got caught up helping on penetration, when we should have probably took our chances on the (guard) penetration," he said. "And then they would kick out to Peck (on the perimeter)."

Gray added that he was disappointed by the ending to the season, but said overall his team had a good year.

Nevada returns most of its offense, as the future appears to be bright for Gray's Tigers.

"We have guys that will work hard and mature and I think the pieces will fall into place," Gray said.