Tigers fare well at Seneca Hoops Jamboree

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Facing adversity after losing All-Conference forward Clay Gayman to injury, the Nevada Tigers showed resilience, winning five of the six periods they competed in at Thursday's Seneca Basketball Jamboree.

Gayman, one of the top junior's in the state of Missouri, is out indefinitely after fracturing his ankle at Wednesday's practice. The loss of Gayman is colossal, however, Nevada Tiger boys basketball head coach Shaun Gray said he was pleased with the effort his team displayed in Seneca.

At the Jamboree, the Tigers handily defeated Cassville in all three periods of play, followed by winning two of three periods against host Seneca. Gray said upon the conclusion of each period, the scoreboard reset, so it was essentially the same as playing three mini-games.

"There were a lot of positives to be taken away from it," Gray told the Daily Mail. "We shot the ball well, pushed the ball in transition and were able to beat (Cassville) down the floor."

Gray said he would like to see quick improvement in a few areas.

"We didn't do a good enough job of penetrating gaps in the zone," he said. "I would like to see our guards dribble-penetrate a little more. With all that being said, I don't think that Cassville is going to be one of the stronger teams that we're going to see this year. I would think that they're going to be middle of the pack at best in the Big 8."

Gray said the Tigers faced stiffer competition against Seneca, dropping the first period 11-8.

"Seneca returned everyone and has a chance to maybe win the Big 8," Gray said. "In the first period, we really struggled with their size inside."

With Gayman unavailable, Gray indicated that senior Patrick Ferry will switch positions from power forward to center, while junior Hunter Mason will move from small forward to power forward.

"We allowed them to catch it in the post too easily," Gray said. "So they were either getting a one-on-one post move, or we were fouling them and putting them at the line. We got down early because of that."

Gray said adjustments were made that kept the period close, adding the Tigers had a wide-open 3-pointer to tie that game at the buzzer, but weren't able to knock it down.

"I wasn't happy with the initial effort ---- that we were allowing them to catch it in the post," Gray said. "We weren't pressuring the ball enough, and were just playing behind the post. That's not going to get it done against good post players."

Gray said Nevada's defensive intensity went up a notch in the second period.

"Seneca wasn't getting that easy stuff anymore," he said. "We put more pressure on their guards, trying to make them beat us rather than their bigs. We had some success and won a close second period."

Gray said both teams played primarily freshman and sophomores in the third period.

"Our underclassmen showed very well," an elated Gray said. "I think at one point, we were up 12-0 in the period. "Our younger guys really outshined their younger guys."

With its team philosophy fundamentally altered after Gayman's injury, Gray said things went well in Nevada's first action without its prized big man.

"For having lost a key piece of the team in practice (Wednesday), I was pleasantly surprised with the way we competed and with the way we got some stuff done," Gray said.

"But I hope we don't just rely on perimeter shooting. We need to get more stuff going to the basket and defend in the post a little better. We know we're going to have to do that with Clay out."

Gray further elaborated on the Tigers current state of mind with Gayman out.

"Anytime you have a tough situation, you have to make the best of it," he said. "I told the boys last night, 'injuries happen, they're part of sports.' We're going to rise above it, and our goal is to become a better team for it."

Not only is Gayman a load to handle in the post, but he also possesses excellent court vision, and can attack from the perimeter, as well as knock down the mid-range jumper with consistency.

"With Clay being so versatile, we were running things where we could use him either as a perimeter player or an inside player," Gray said.

Gray added that he will shuffle lineups based on the matchup.

"We may go with more guard-heavy lineups now," Gray said. "Or, we may turn to younger bigs like Matt Thompson, Kayden Ast, and Devin McHugh. Dalton Gayman is a forward at the freshman level who might be able to help.

"There are younger forwards, if that becomes an area of need, who we can turn to. But we also have depth this year that we haven't always had. Guys like Braeden (Hinton), Zach (Gardner), and Hunter can play multiple positions. Which gives us lineup flexibility.

Gray said senior point guard Matt Sommer and sophomore combo guard Carter Swearingen are interchangeable.

"They can both play on the ball or off the ball. We can use them in combinations during games as well," he said.

"We just need to find five guys, who together can shoulder some of the load that Clay normally would have shouldered. It will be something that in the long run will make us a better team."

Fan support

Gray said he was impressed with the number of Tiger fans who made the trip to Seneca.

"We had a good following of fans," he said. "For a jamboree to have a good road crowd is always nice, so we really appreciated that."

Season opener on tap

With the Seneca Jamboree in its rearview, Nevada now turns its full attention to St. Pius X, as the West Central Conference teams are set to collide in Tuesday's season opener, with tip off set for 7 p.m. at Nevada High's Wynn Gymnasium.

"We had two scouts up there (watching St. Pius at the Jamboree) taking lots of good notes," Gray said. "And we received (Jamboree) film on them from another coach.

Gray continued, "You always know that St. Pius is going to be fundamentally sound on the defensive end. They're going to run a pack line man-to-man defense.

"You're not going to get anything driving to the basket, because they're going to come over to take a charge. But, they will give up some 3-pointers if you take advantage with good inside-out ball movement."

St. Pius is without its top post player, center Andrew Hipp (knee), while the team's top perimeter defender from a year ago, Lendi Krizogono, transfered late in the summer.

"They're missing a few key pieces, but they still have solid players at every position," Gray said. "If we take care of business, I think they're a team we can beat."

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