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Tigers trounce Warrensburg for 12th straight victory
Clay Gayman held a heavily attended block party Friday night at Wynn Gym.
The 6-foot-6 junior forward spearheaded the Nevada Tigers 20-point rout of visiting Warrensburg with an otherworldly defensive performance that included eight blocked shots and several aggressive plays at the rim that resulted in altered shots.
Nevada's lights out defensive performance paved the way for its 12th consecutive victory as the Tigers improved to 17-3 overall (7-3 West Central Conference).
"We have a saying, 'the tougher team wins,'" Nevada head coach Shaun Gray said of the Tigers' 70-50 victory. "When athleticism is close to equal, when talent is close to equal ---- the tougher team always wins in the game of basketball and almost every sport."
"Gray continued, "our defense created a lot of offense. We did a phenomenal job of switching defenses, and Clay cleaned up things around the rim with blocks. We also took a couple of charges."
Gray said he was impressed with the defensive play of senior guard Myles McNeley. McNeley defended 6-foot-2 senior guard Cale Cunconan, who hit two first quarter 3-pointers, but was then held to four points the remainder of the game.
"(Cunconan) didn't score in the second or third quarters," Gray noted.
"We had some great offensive performances. Plus Patrick (Ferry) and Hunter (Mason) were crashing the boards and Braeden (Hinton) was making all the right passes to help contribute to the win. This group is playing together as a team better than they ever have."
Friday's WCC victory was an important one for Nevada, as the Tigers avenged a 63-45 loss Dec. 16 in Warrensburg.
Gray said the biggest difference between tonight's thrashing of Warrensburg and its December loss, was the Tigers ability to seamlessly switch defenses. Gray threw the kitchen sink at Warrensburg, using variations of man-to-man and zone defenses.
"We used a straight man-to-man, switching man-to-man, 1-3-1 zone, 2-3 zone, 3-2 zone, 1-3 chaser and triangle-and- two," Gray said.
"The boys are now able to switch defenses on the fly with a quick hand-signal. And that's tough for opposing teams, especially a team like Warrensburg who likes to quickly attack on offense. They don't know how exactly to attack because they have to assess what we're in. And that gives us a big advantage."
The contest opened with Gayman swatting a lay-up attempt by 6-foot-3 Warrensburg combo guard Mike Flores. Gayman had three more blocks of Flores, including two that flew several rows into the bleachers.
After Gayman's opening block of Flores, the Tigers proceeded to go on a 7-0 run, capped by a Matthew Sommer slashing drive from the right wing. Nevada increased its lead to 10-2 after Hinton drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing, assisted by McNeley.
A Ferry offensive rebound and put-back late in the first handed the Tigers a 16-8 advantage. The opening frame concluded with Hinton driving in hard from the right wing and scoring at the buzzer as Nevada led 18-10.
Early in the second, Ferry threaded a pass to sophomore guard Carter Swearingen who scored on a reverse lay-in to increase Nevada's lead to nine.
"Our offensive patience and ball movement was much better than it was in the first game," Gray said. "In the first game, there were multiple possessions where we came down and chucked up a quick shot. Tonight, we made them patiently guard, guard, guard and then we took a good shot. And that slows down their attack."
With 1:30 remaining in the first half Gayman plucked an offensive rebound out of the air and went up strong for the bucket as the Tigers went on top 27-16. Nevada led 29-20 at halftime.
The Tigers opened the second half on an 8-0 blitz capped by a Hinton trey, as the Tigers lead ballooned to 17.
A Gayman three with 1:35 remaining in the third, followed by a Sommer coast-to-coast lay-in put the Tigers in front 48-25. Sommer later connected from deep to extend Nevada's lead to 26.
A fourth quarter highlight came when Gayman threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk after faking out his defender with a stutter-step at half-court. After catching Mason's out-of-bounds home-run pass, Gayman sped to the other end of the floor for the viscous flush.
For Nevada, Gayman finished the evening with 25 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks. Sommer added 18 points, with 16 coming in the second half and nine in the fourth quarter. Ferry was terrific, finishing with 13 points while Hinton pitched in eight.
"Patrick played really well," Gray said. "He was strong inside, using pump-fakes, and got to the free throw line as well. And we were able to get Clay the ball in the high-post a couple times, with Patrick one-on-one on the block.
"And it's a big advantage for us to have multiple bigs to throw at the opponent."
Gray said he was pleased with Sommer's performance, as the senior guard has been playing through a foot injury.
"To fight through that and have 16 points in the second half was really impressive,"Gray said.
Up next
The Tigers host Butler on "Dunk Red Night" Tuesday at Wynn Gym. The non-conference varsity-junior varsity doubleheader is slated for a 6 p.m. tip off.