Tigers open season on high-note, knock off St. Pius on road

The Nevada Tiger boys basketball team opened its season with a convincing 51-36 victory over the St. Pius X Warriors, Tuesday night in Kansas City.

Nevada came out firing on all cylinders, opening the contest on a 17-0 blitz. St. Pius, however, closed out the first quarter on an 8-2 run, closing the deficit to 19-8. The Tigers then led 27-17 at halftime.

In the third St. Pius began to chip away at the Tigers double-digit advantage, outscoring Nevada 14-5. The Tigers held a slim 33-31 lead entering the fourth.

Unable to adequately match-up with the Tigers in a man-to-man defense, St. Pius switch to a 3-2 zone, fueling their big third quarter.

“The zone defense gave us trouble and we had a lot of turnovers in the third period,” said Nevada head coach, Shaun Gray. “That led to good looks at the other end for Pius.”

In the fourth, a Matt Thompson 3-pointer, a trio of Clay Gayman buckets and Carter Swearingen’s accuracy from the charity stripe helped Nevada outscore St. Pius 18-5.

“We switched to a zone and were able to hold Pius to one bucket in the final frame,” said Gray, as the Warriors only basket from the field came on a Tommy Hoambrecker 3-pointer. Gray said Thompson’s triple was a big spark in the fourth, while the fourth-year Tigers head coach also lauded the defensive effort put forth by sophomore forward Dalton Gayman and freshman guard Logan Applegate.

“Late steals by Dalton and Logan helped us get good looks in transition,” noted Gray.

Nevada was led by senior forward Clay Gayman, who finished with a game-high 24 points, while Swearingen chipped in 7 points, all from the charity stripe (7-of-8). In addition, Thompson finished with 7, Braeden Hinton, 5, Dalton Gayman, 5, and Will Johnson, 3.

“We had a balanced supporting cast offensively to go along with Clay’s 24,” said Gray. “Our ability to contain penetration and force tough shots helped us limit Pius offensively.”

Gray said he was happy with his squad’s season-opening performance, noting that his squad’s energy and effort was superb, as Nevada regularly hit the deck for loose balls. Gray, however, does see areas for improvement.

“We must box out better and secure defensive rebounds,” he said. “And we must make sure we do not throw so many hurried, iffy passes. Our passing woes helped lead to the Pius’ comeback during the second and third quarters. All-in-all I’m pleased we beat a quality opponent on the road.

“We have a lot to clean up, but believe we can do that this week and be in a better place going into the Carthage tournament on Tuesday.”