Tigers, Lady Tigers advance to Class 4 district title tilts

PLEASANT HILL, Mo. ­ — The Nevada Tiger and Lady Tiger basketball teams are one victory away from the Missouri Class 4 State Tournament.

After receiving opening round byes in the Class 4 District 12 Tournament, the second-seeded Tigers dispatched No. 3 Pleasant Hill 66-51, while the No. 2 seed Lady Tigers prevailed over No. 3 Harrisonville, 37-32 in the tourney semifinals Thursday night.

The Lady Tigers had twice matched up with Harrisonville this season. In the first meeting on Dec. 14 at Wynn Gym, the Lady Tigers erased a 16-point first half deficit en route to a 46-44 victory. The teams met again in the Clinton Invitational third-place game, with the Lady Tigers flattening Harrisonville, 64-28.

The Lady Tigers tipped off first Thursday evening, jumping out to an early lead, as Payge Dahmer’s three from the left corner handed Nevada a 9-5 advantage. Lady Tiger point guard Calli Beshore dropped in a short jumper to put Nevada on top 11-7 through one quarter of play.

Harrisonville then opened the second quarter on a 5-0 blitz, capped by a Mara Davis 3-pointer, handing Harrisonville a 12-11 lead. The low-scoring first half concluded with the teams knotted at 18-apiece.

Early in the third, a Dahmer trey put Nevada back in front, 23-20. Harrisonville quickly replied with an Alie Knox triple, tying the contest at 23-apiece. The contest remained tied as the third quarter sounded, and the scoreboard reading, 27-27.

Midway through the final frame, the Lady Tigers began to take control, using an 8-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 36-30. Beshore fueled the run, knocking down a mid-range jumper, while also applying suffocating perimeter defense. Despite accuracy issues from the charity stripe down the stretch, Nevada held on for the five-point victory.

“It was a hard fought win, I’m really proud of our girls,” said Lady Tiger head coach, Brent Bartlett. “We rebounded better in the second half and, knocked down some shots in the fourth when we needed them. The team stuck together.

Nevada (17-8) was paced by Beshore’s game-high 13 points, as the dynamic sophomore point guard also chipped in fpir steals.

Up next

The No. 2 seed Lady Tigers vs. No. 4 Pleasant Hill Lady Chicks, in the district championship game — with tip off slated for 6 p.m., Saturday, at Pleasant Hill H.S. Upset-minded Pleasant Hill (9-15) toppled top-seeded Clinton, 45-36, in the semifinals Thursday evening.

In the boys contest, Nevada took the floor without star forward Clay Gayman, who was relegated to the bench for the first half due to an undisclosed disciplinary action.

“When faced with a tough situation, a team has a choice,” explained Nevada head coach, Shaun Gray. “They can let that tough circumstance bring them down and allow for doubt, excuses, and negativity to creep in. Or they can use that difficult circumstance to band together, to pick each other up and to be a reason that the whole (team) improves and gets better. We are really proud of the fact that our guys chose the latter, and that they made the most of a less than ideal circumstance.”

The strategy for Gray’s club was to hold down the fort and keep the contest close until Gayman could re-enter at the start of the third quarter. The Tigers jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, courtesy of a 3-ball from freshman guard Logan Applegate. Applegate and junior guard Will Johnson picked up the slack offensively in Gayman’s absence, combining for five first half triples, to help Nevada out to a 26-24 halftime lead.

“Hot outside shooting from Logan and Will in the first half — along with seven points from Matt Thompson and four from Dalton Gayman were big for us, and it was really a total team effort.”

As the second half got underway, Clay Gayman wasted little time getting into an offensive rhythm, erupting for a dozen third quarter points, which included a vicious two-handed slam, as the Tigers went in front 48-37. Nevada then pulled away in the fourth for the comfortable 15-point victory.

“In the second half, Clay was able to come in and play his role,” noted Gray. “We had a big third quarter and took advantage of the size discrepancy we had on Pleasant Hill. Dalton, Matt, and especially Clay scored at-will in the paint during the third quarter, and that three-headed inside game fueled us.”

Nevada (21-4) was paced by Clay Gayman’s team-high 18 points. Joining the double-figure scoring club for Nevada was Thompson with 14, while Applegate chipped in 13, and Johnson added a season-high, nine points.

“I was proud of the total team effort tonight,” said Gray. “And hopefully, we see a big crowd on Saturday arriving early to support our girls in the 6 p.m. game.”

Up next

The No. 1 seed Grandview Bulldogs vs. No. 2 Nevada — in a rematch of last year’s district championship game, in which Grandview won, 72-45. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Pleasant Hill High School.

Meanwhile, Grandview (21-3) is ranked No. 4 in the latest Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll.