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Gayman's monster second half lifts Tigers to victory
After remaining idle for the past 18 days, the Nevada Tigers were able to get back on the winning track with a 65-56 victory over the Seneca Indians in a Tuesday night non-conference road contest.
Seneca was unable to contain Nevada junior Clay Gayman, who erupted for 24 second half points.
After opening the season with five consecutive victories, Nevada (6-3) entered Christmas break on a three-game losing skid, which is now a distant memory.
It took a while for the Tigers to knock the rust off, as Seneca led 15-9 entering the second quarter.
After a cold-shooting first quarter, the Tigers problems were compounded early in the second, when the 6-foot-5 Gayman was whistled for his third foul.
Providing a major spark off the bench was 6-foot-4 freshman forward Dalton Gayman, who chipped in five second quarter points, including a traditional 3-point play that shaved Seneca's lead to a point at 23-22.
At the half, Nevada trailed 25-24, as the Indians were able to hold Clay Gayman to just three first half points. Picking up the scoring slack for Nevada was 6-foot-1 junior Braeden Hinton with 9 points, while senior point guard Matt Sommer accounted for 7 points.
In addition to Dalton Gayman's five points, sophomore forward Matt Thompson also provided valuable minutes in Clay Gayman's absence.
"Over (Christmas) break, we made it a point to go a little deeper as far as our rotation and how many kids we play," Nevada head coach Shaun Gray said.
"We played 10 kids tonight, with our first six getting the majority of the minutes. But that next group of guys Carter (Swearingen), Matt (Thompson), Will (Johnson), and Dalton (Gayman) gave us some quality minutes. I think it makes us better when we have a lot of guys who can go in and play big minutes."
Gray continued, "Clay got into foul trouble in the first half, and Dalton and Matt were able to get in there and help us at the forward spot. I was proud of the second unit ---- that they came in and were serviceable and gave us energy off the bench."
Second half
Nevada took its first lead of the night on a Hinton lay-in assisted by Sommer, as the Tigers went on top 29-27. Back-to-back traditional three-point plays courtesy of Gayman handed Nevada its largest advantage of the night at 36-31.
A Sommer back court steal and lay-in pushed Nevada's lead to seven midway though the third.
The Tigers closed out the quarter with a flurry, as Gayman poured in 7 of the Tigers final 8 points to put Nevada up 46-37.
The Tigers first points of the final frame came on a Gayman dish to senior forward Patrick Ferry for the inside bucket. Gayman's all-around skill-set continued to be on full display, as the junior big-man drilled an NBA range 3-pointer to put Nevada in front 53-43.
"In the second half, you could tell he had a lot of pent-up energy," Gray said of his prized forward. "He played hard. He got to the free throw line, got some offensive rebounds and knocked down perimeter shots. He was hurting (Seneca) from all over the floor."
Gray said Gayman's offensive game was too perimeter-oriented in the first half.
"In the second half, Clay did a better job of making them guard him around the rim, in the mid-range and the 3-point line," Gray noted. "When Clay is active like that, he's pretty hard to guard."
Led by Zack Dunnam, a 7-3 Seneca run drew the Indians to within six with 3:04 remaining in regulation.
The Tigers quickly responded, as Gayman corralled his own missed jumper and followed with a close-range bucket. On the Tigers next possession, junior forward Hunter Mason threaded a pass to Hinton on the back-door cut (lay-up), slamming the door shut on Seneca's comeback attempt as the Tigers lead increased to 60-50.
For Nevada, Gayman tallied a game-high 27 points, while Hinton notched a career-high 16 points in the winning effort.
Gray said Hinton was most effective while moving without the ball.
"Braeden was really active," Gray said. "When double-teams went to Clay, or when Matthew drew attention off penetration ---- he did a great job of cutting through the lane and catching the ball in the paint around the high-post area. Braeden was then able to score from (the high-post) or get to the free throw line."
"Gray continued, "It was big for us that Braeden stepped up and was that second scoring option for us, with the way they were Matthew tonight."
Gray said he was also pleased with the post play of Ferry.
"Patrick played extremely hard tonight," he said. "He was great on the glass for us, boxed out and rebounded hard. He also got to the line and scored a couple big buckets.
Ferry finished with five important points.
"They were all in the second half, and it seemed like they all came at big moments," Gray said.
Also for Nevada, Sommer finished with 9 points. Dalton Gayman recorded a varsity career-high with 6 points, while Mason chipped in 2.
JV and C-team
The Tiger junior varsity team (6-3 overall) dispatched Seneca 63-54, while Nevada C-team edged the Indians 39-34.
Led by Austin Bash's, 17 points, the C-team moves to 5-1 overall.
Up next
The Tigers play host to Carthage in a non-conference varsity/junior varsity/C-team triple-header Friday night at Wynn Gym, with tip off of the first game set for 5 p.m. Festivities include a performance from Nevada High School's Crimson Kickers, who are slated to perform at halftime of the varsity contest.