Nevada boys get technical in season opening win over McDonald County

Joe Warren/Daily Mail Nevada senior Seth Owings lays the ball in for two of his 10 points against McDonald County Tuesday in their opening game of the Carthage Boys Invitational, in Carthage. Owings tied for game-high honors in scoring and the Tigers easily handled the Mustangs 48-30. It was the season opener for both teams. Nevada next plays Seneca as they continue round-robin play Thursday, also in Carthage. That game tips at approximately 7:30 p.m. [Click to enlarge]

Nevada Daily Mail

Tuesday's basketball season opener between the Nevada Tigers and the McDonald County Mustangs sure got off to an unusual start.

The Tigers won the game easily, controlling the contest almost from the onset as they cruised to a 48-30 victory.

But the opener looked like just that -- the first game of the season -- for both teams.

In a game that also served as the Carthage Boys Invitational opener for the two schools, a pair of events that had little to do with play on the court and more to do with gamesmanship, stood out like a sore thumb.

The season started with McDonald County shooting a pair of free throws and taking the ball inbounds thanks to a technical foul called on a Nevada player for hanging on the rim during pregame warmups.

McDonald County's Justin Pickens missed the first free throw, but made the second and the 1-0 lead was the only time the Mustangs would sit atop Nevada in this one.

The Tigers would respond by making a defensive stand on the Mustangs' ensuing possession, then getting a bucket from senior J.R. Mills at the other end for a 2-1 lead.

Seth Owings, who tied with Mills for game-high scoring honors at 10 points, turned a steal into a layup to give Nevada a 4-1 lead. After a 3-pointer by Pickens tied the score, Mills hit his first trey of the season and Nevada would never trail again.

Later in first half another happening occurred that would have to be filed in the "You don't see that often" file. Nevada was forced to take three players off the court because their shirts were not tucked in to the satisfaction of the officials. Luckily for Nevada, they were out in front on the scoreboard at the time and the benchings didn't have much of an impact on the court.

The style of play also resembled what you'd expect for a season opener, as neither team had a discernable style to speak of.

Turnovers were plentiful and the end result was simply a product of Nevada hitting a few more shots than the Mustangs.

"I thought we guarded well, guarded effectively," Nevada coach John McNeley said after the game. "I thought we rebounded horribly. Offensively we didn't make very good decisions."

McNeley said his team has the ability to score many different ways, a luxury that allowed them to overcome the poor decision making Tuesday.

"I didn't think we attacked it (offensively) like we needed to attack," he said. "But you can overcome that when you shoot 3's in a low-scoring game."

Mills, Logan Moore, Justin Reed and Opie Tipton each hit shots from beyond the arc for Nevada. Tipton's came with time running down at the end of the first half and gave Nevada a 29-15 lead at the break.

McNeley couldn't remember a time when a game was started with a technical foul.

"That's not a good way to start," he said. "I took the kids back to the locker room (after the technical was called) and I said, 'At least we know we start on defense.'"

Defense was probably the bright spot for Nevada as their 2-3 matchup zone forced McDonald County to keep the ball along the perimeter, and the Mustangs couldn't convert from the outside.

"I felt like coming in that we had multiple guys who could put the ball in the hole," McDonald County head coach Lee Smith said. "Judging by the way things went tonight, maybe I was wrong."

Nevada continues round-robin play in the tournament Thursday when they take on Seneca. In the only other tournament game Tuesday in Carthage, Joplin lost to Carl Junction 75-47.

If Nevada can beat Seneca they will clinch a spot in the tournament championship game Saturday against either Carl Junction, Carthage or Joplin, depending on how their side of the bracket plays out.