Tigers upset Roosters

PLEASANT HILL, Mo. -- The suddenly resurgent Nevada Tigers won their second straight, an unlikely upset of district opponent Pleasant Hill on Monday.

The two teams entered the game on opposite ends of the win-loss spectrum -- Pleasant Hill 15-5, Nevada 6-14.

However, the Tigers stayed in contention throughout the contest, made big plays and hit key free throws down the stretch for the improbable victory.

Late in the final quarter when crunch-time free-throws weren't dropping, it did become a bit dicey.

Bryan Campbell's 3-pointer at the 3:24 mark of the fourth period had lifted Nevada to a 43-41 lead, but the Tigers failed to capitalize on two consecutive one-and-one situations, missing the front end of both.

Pleasant Hill canned two freebies to tie the contest at 43.

Then point-guard Ben Wilson hit two huge charity tosses with 2:05 left, which vaulted the Tigers into the lead at 45-43. Pleasant Hill was unable to tie or regain the lead.

Nevada went on to sink 11 of 14 from the line down the stretch to ice the win.

With the game on the line, there was a play that won't show up in the boxscore, but certainly deserves mention. With about 40 seconds to go and Nevada leading 48-45, junior Eric Atkinson, one of two Tigers sandwiched between four Pleasant Hill players on the lane, snatched a rebound of the second of two missed Tiger free throws, thus maintaining a crucial possession. So, instead of a Tiger downer and a Pleasant Hill possession, the Roosters were forced to foul which resulted in two Campbell free throws and a two-possession ballgame at 50-45 with 32 seconds left.

The Tigers hung around all evening, trailing only 10-9 after the first quarter, 26-24 at halftime. Nevada pulled into a 35-35 tie on Taylor Rainey's basket at the third-quarter buzzer, then took a short-lived 37-35 lead on Wilson's driving layin early in the fourth.

Pleasant Hill came back with a 6-0 run to retake the lead at 41-37 before Alex Hardin's trey cut the margin to 41-40.

Four Tigers reached double-figure scoring, led by freshman Campbell with 18 including four counters from behind the arc.

Hardin had 13 and Wilson and Rainey had career highs with 11 and 10, respectively.

Nevada resumes Southwest Conference action against Neosho in a boys/girls-junior varsity/varsity matchup tonight at Wynn Gymnasium.

Bolivar Tournament

On Saturday, the Tigers began their modest two-game streak with a 60-25 demolishing of winless Springfield Central.

The No. 7 seed-Tigers jumped to an 8-0 lead and never looked back for a seventh-place finish in the Bolivar Liberator Tournament.

"It's nice to see the kids rewarded and their hard work and dedication pay off," said Nevada coach John McNeley. "Our goal, coming in, was to be the best team on both ends of the floor."

Campbell paced the Tigers with a career-high 19 points, 17 in the first half. Jim Fay also reached a career best with 10. With reserves playing most of the fourth period, eight Tigers hit the scoring column.