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Gayman deflates Guardian defenders, erupts for 37 as Nevada romps, 65-45
Clay Gayman was a man on a mission Friday night at Wynn Gym.
The prized senior forward’s 37-point explosion not only dazzled the Wynn Gym crowd, but fueled the Nevada Tigers’ 65-45 blowout victory over the Guardians of St. Michael’s Catholic High School.
Nevada (17-3, 8-0 WCC) opened the contest on a 10-2 run, punctuated by Gayman’s drop-step dunk over helpless Guardian defenders. On the ensuing possession Gayman collected a pass in the right corner, drove the baseline, and threw down a ferocious two-handed jam. Nevada’s lead increased to 14-2 via Gayman’s one-handed put-back off a missed 3-point attempt.
The Guardians closed out the opening frame on a 4-0 spurt, with the run extending into the second quarter as St. Michael’s trimmed the deficit to 14-12, capping a 10-0 blitz. In addition, Gayman was relegated to the bench for part of the second quarter with two fouls. The Guardians stayed within striking distance, trailing 26-20 at the break.
A Gayman one handed tip-in midway through the third put the Tigers up six. After a Malik Cherry jumper sliced the lead to four, the Tigers went on an 11-2 blitz to close out the quarter, highlighted by junior guard Will Johnson’s trey from the left corner.
Leading 47-34 entering the fourth, Gayman opened the scoring on a highlight reel fadeaway jumper from 12 feet, although Guardian defenders were draped all over him. After connecting on the free throw, the Tigers led 50-34. Nevada continued to pour it on, with Dalton Gayman dishing out a pair of assists to older brother Clay on high-low plays, and Braeden Hinton threading a pass to Matt Thompson for a left block lay-in. The Tigers lead grew to an insurmountable 58-35 at the 6:20 mark of the fourth quarter.
Clay Gayman has feasted on the Guardians this season, previously gashing them for 31 in a 76-59 road victory.
“(St. Michael’s) has some size, and length, and athleticism, but their bigs aren’t nearly physical enough to compete with Clay inside,” said Nevada head coach, Shaun Gray. “His physicality and aggression in the post really sparked him.”
Added Gray: “The foul trouble limited him in the first half. And when he was in the game he had to play somewhat reserved on the defensive end, to try to avoid that foul trouble. Everything he had to hold back on the defensive end, he was able to let all the aggression out offensively. He made a couple of nice jumpers, had some very nice moves to the basket, and inside the paint area he was strong and very physical.”
Gray added that he was pleased with his club’s interior passing, getting Gayman the ball in good spots to score.
“I appreciate my teammates getting me in the right position, and getting me the ball when I needed to get it — and we took care of business tonight,” Clay Gayman told the Daily Mail.
Added Gayman: “In the second half I was definitely on a mission. The game was still too close, and I felt like we should have had an edge on them from the beginning. The mission in the second half was just to be a lot better than we were in the first half. We definitely calmed down in the second half, things were opening up, we outlasted them and were a bit more tough.”
Both Gaymans were in foul trouble, as Dalton was whistled for his third in the second quarter, prompting Gray to insert Clay Gayman back into the contest despite being saddled with a pair of fouls.
“When Dalton picked up his third it became pretty evident that we needed a physical presence in there,” explained Gray. “With Dalton coming out with three fouls, I asked Clay to be disciplined and to not pick up that third foul. We needed Clay in there, not just from a defensive and rebounding standpoint, but from a ball security standpoint.”
Added Clay: “I talked to coach Gray about coming back into the game with two fouls. I looked him in the eye, he looked me in the eye, and I said ‘coach, I’m fine, I’m not going to foul — you’re not going to have to worry about it.’ He looked at me, and said, ‘I let one guy get in there with two fouls, so you can’t disappoint me.’”
Gayman said he enjoys receiving assists from his brother, sophomore forward Dalton Gayman.
“My brother definitely looks for me every time he touches it. We bicker like every sibling does,” said Clay with a wry smile. “But he definitely shares the ball with me, and I’m very appreciative of that.”
Gayman’s 37-point eruption included 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Gayman is closing in on the 2,000 point plateau, upping his career point total to 1,846. No player in Nevada boys’ program history has reached the 2K plateau.
In other action Friday night the Nevada junior varsity boys (8-8) defeated St. Michael’s, 51-36, as sophomore forward Matt Thorp concluded with a team-high nine points. The Tigers made it a clean sweep of the Guardians, with Nevada’s C-team (11-1) rolling to a 55-40 victory over St. Michael’s. Nevada freshman forward Ben Hines paced the Tigers with a team-high 13 points.