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Big 8 West: Tigers dismantle Monett, 67-34
Logan Applegate and Dalton Gayman dropped in 20 points apiece as the Nevada Tigers administered a 33-point thrashing of the Monett Cubs Tuesday at Wynn Gym.
The Big 8 Conference West division victory improves Nevada to 15-3 overall, and 3-1 in the Big 8 West.
Applegate, a junior point guard, came out red-hot, drilling four 3-pointers in the first four minutes of action as the Tigers jumped out to a 16-5 advantage.
Late in the first Lane McNeley knifed into the paint and kicked to forward Matt Thorp for the lay-in and a 21-7 lead.
The second quarter opened with a Noah Cheaney triple from the top of the key, increasing Nevada's lead to 15.
Entering the game at the start of the second quarter, power forward Dalton Gayman resembled a bull in a China shop. Beleaguered Monett defenders could only watch as the Arkansas Fort-Smith commit bludgeoned their interior defense.
A steal in the back-court led to Gayman bulldozing his way through the lane for a bucket and trip to the charity stripe, as the Tigers led 26-9.
An Applegate floating lay-in, followed by a Gayman close-range bucket and a Cheaney triple, swelled the Tigers advantage to 22 with 5:50 remaining in the first half.
Nevada continued to pour it on, as a Gayman 3-ball, followed by a Gayman put-back off his own miss put the Tigers in front, 42-13.
The Tigers kept the pedal to the metal, opening the second half with a lightning-quick 6-0 blitz, then building the lead to 51-20 courtesy of a Gayman three. A McNeley trey from the left corner closed out the third as the Tigers held a 62-32 advantage. Nevada then elected to rest its varsity rotation players for the final frame.
In addition to Applegate and Gayman combining for 40, Cheaney finished with 10 points, and Thorp seven.
"With Matt Thorp and Grant Miller inserted into the starting lineup, we didn't see any drop-off in the first quarter," said Nevada head coach, Shaun Gray. "They played with energy, and understood their role. The energy that we started with in the first quarter, is kind of what sparked us."
"Gray continued: "Logan Applegate understood, that with two of our three leading scorers out during the first quarter — that he would be called upon to carry a little bit more of the scoring load, early. And, proud of the fact that when we got the lead, we didn't put it in cruise-control. Our guys continued to play hard at both ends of the floor, regardless of the score."
Gray said he was thrilled with Gayman's performance, as the prized forward accumulated his game-high scoring total in just two quarters of play.
"He was playing with extremely high-energy at both ends of the floor," Gray said. "He's so hard to defend. And, we're so hard to score against when we have his presence inside."
JV and C-team
Also squaring off with Monett, Nevada's junior varsity team prevailed in a thriller, 33-30. A Monett 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the back board, rolling in-and-out, as Nevada hung on for the narrow victory. Eli Cheaney finished with a team-high 11 points, while Evan Rea chipped in nine in the winning effort.
Nevada was unable to make it a clean sweep, as their C-team was upended by Monett, 54-48. For the Tigers, Case Sanderson and Drew Beachler concluded with 15 points apiece.
Middle School
In middle school hoops action Tuesday night the Nevada Tiger eighth-grade A-team defeated Monett at home, 28-22. For Nevada Brice Budd dropped in a dozen points, while Brady Phebus added eight. Nevada's eighth-grade B-team fell to Monett, 46-22, as Ude Mba tallied a team-high 11 points for the Tigers.
The Nevada seventh-grade A-team walloped Monett, 30-10, at home. Nevada was paced by Caden Klumpp's game-high 14 points, while Leo Gayman added eight.
The conference victory improves Nevada to 7-1 overall.
Nevada head coach Toby Thorp said he was impressed with his squad's performance against a Monett team that entered 8-1 on the season, as the Tigers held a 20-0 halftime cushion. Thorp said the victory should lead to his club receiving the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
"This was a big (win)," Thorp noted.
Nevada's seventh-grade B-team, meanwhile, was edged 19-18. For Nevada Hunter Gruenhagen led the way with eight points.