Tigers derailed by Ruskin in district semis, 77-63

Nevada Tiger senior forward Dalton Gayman skies in for the one-handed slam Tuesday night.

Submitted photo

Harrisonville —It was a tough ending to a terrific season, as the third-seeded Nevada Tigers were upended by second-seeded Ruskin High School, 77-63, in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 13 boys' basketball tournament Tuesday night.

Nevada concludes its season at 22-4 overall.

"The guys played hard until the end, and battled," said Nevada head coach, Shaun Gray. "(Ruskin's) athleticism and physicality did us in, so-to-speak."

Added Gray: "Our guys showed a lot of grit, and a lot of heart, playing short-handed. We're really proud of the season this group had."

The district 13 bracket was widely considered the toughest in all of Class 4, featuring three teams ranked in the top 10. Two-time defending state champion Grandview, ranked No. 5 in Class 4, was the district tournament's top seed. Ruskin entered ranked No. 9 Class 4, and Nevada No. 10.

"I think if we're in 13 or 14 of the other district (brackets) we probably come out on top, but that wasn't the case," Gray noted. "These guys should hold their heads up, and be really proud of the season they had, and our community should be proud of them."

Nevada trailed 18-10 at the conclusion of the opening frame, and 35-26 at the break.

Things began to unravel for the Tigers in the third, as a 15-6 run handed Ruskin an 18-point advantage. The Tigers clawed back, as a 23-foot Logan Applegate trey punctuated a 10-0 Nevada blitz. The Tigers trailed 50-42 through three quarters of play.

A pair of Dalton Gayman free throws early in the fourth trimmed the Tigers' deficit six.

Nevada had an opportunity to slice Ruskin's lead to four, but a miss on the front-end of a one-and-one, was followed by a Tavion Banks triple at the other end, swinging momentum back to Ruskin, as they led 55-46.

Nevada trimmed the deficit to seven on one other occasion, but it was as close as they would get the remainder of the way.

Applegate finished with a game-high 33 points, while Gayman concluded his prep career with a 27 point outing. Banks, meanwhile, tallied a team-high 27 points for Ruskin.