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Tigers end season in district championship with a loss to Barstow 57-42
All good things must come to an end, and that unfortunately was the case for the Nevada Tigers Friday evening. After earning the first seed in the Class 4 District 13 tournament and earning a chance to compete for a district championship, the Tigers lose out to the Barstow Knights 57-42.
“The game of basketball is all about the runs of momentum you get,” stated Head Coach Shaun Gray. “Obviously Barstow had a huge run at the beginning of the game, and that just put us in a deep hole. It seemed like it kind of went their way for a long time there in the first quarter.”
The Knights went hot and heavy in the first quarter like Coach Gray stated, and at one point led theTigers 13-0 within the first few minutes. Nevada did score five points in the first quarter, but it was no match up for Barstows 19. The Tigers did get the ball moving a bit with a few minutes in the half with No. 1 Jack Cheaney and No. 3 Cade Beshore scoring three pointers. Barstow led over 20 points on the Tigers, but Nevada sweetened the bitterness when they went into the halftime break behind by 18 points, with Barstow in the lead 33-15.
No. 32 Caden Klumpp and the Knights Chase Mulligan both received a technical foul after wrestling over the ball on the floor in the middle of the third quarter: a sign that the Tigers were not ready to throw in the towel just yet. In the fourth quarter though, there was nothing Nevada could do but foul and pray to get some points on the board. At the end of the day, the Tigers would lose out and end their season with yet another loss to the Barstow Knights, this time with a final score of 57-42.
On the topic of stopping Barstow’s incredible run at the beginning of the game, Gray made it clear that this type of stuff happens in basketball. “Teams are going to go on runs. When you're down six nothing, you have to be able to stream the tide a little bit, but we didn’t do that.They just kept the moment rolling. We didn't do a good enough job back cutting and getting layoffs around the basket either. We fell in love with the three point shots and we only made one of them. If the three pointers are not falling, you probably can't just keep chucking them. We should have done a better job of trying to get the ball to the basket.
Even after missing out on the Class 4 District 13 championship again, Gray is still proud of his team and what they have gone through this year. “We're proud of these guys. We only won eight games a year ago and lost several players off of that team. So to come up this year with a young and experienced team with only two seniors in this year's group, it shows who they are. I think the fact that we were able to get to 14 wins, play for a conference championship, and be able to play for a district championship, I think that speaks volume to this group's leadership, to this group.”
With Friday night being the final game of the year, that means that the two seniors: Cade Beshore and Drew Beachler, will end their high school basketball careers. Gray commented on their contribution to the Nevada Tiger basketball program. “They are two great leaders for us. Drew playing on his injured ankle is a great example of leadership for us. Cade, who is a three sport athlete for all four years through high school, lays it on the line, and doesn't want any credit for himself. They are humble and they always give credit to others, and they are great academically and in the classroom. They are two wonderful examples of what we want to be the Tigers. They are the type of young man that every father wants his son to be, and every coach wants to coach. We will miss them dearly.”
The Tigers finished the year 14-14, second in the Big 8 Conference, and second in the Class 4 District 13 championship.