With ailing Campbell Nevada boys take air out of ball, El Do

By Joe Warren

Herald-Tribune

EL DORADO SPRINGS, Mo. -- Playing without their best player and floor general for all but the final two minutes of the game, the Nevada Tigers slowed the pace and knocked off hosting El Dorado Springs in boys basketball action Friday, 33-27.

With Campbell nursing a badly sprained ankle sustained during Tuesday's loss against Carl Junction, Nevada (2-1) had to look elsewhere to find offensive rhythm and defensive composure.

That help came in a myriad of ways, as 6-5 senior post James Tumm picked up the offensive burden early, and the entire team lifted their play defensively as the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 13-6 in the opening period and didn't trail again.

That didn't mean the game was worry free, as the Bulldogs closed a five-point fourth quarter gap to two with less than three minutes to play, prompting Nevada head coach John McNeley to relent and play Campbell.

Deciding before the game that he would only use Campbell if completely necessary, McNeley called a timeout with 1:47 left in the game and Nevada up 29-27, but with momentum clearly in the Bulldogs' favor.

El Do had victimized sloppy passing to close the margin, as Bulldog star Kellen Hoover had stolen two throws and converted them for layups at the other end to send the home crowd into a frenzy and give McNeley a slight case of indigestion.

Admitting he had reservations about allowing the senior guard to play despite looking solid during warmups, McNeley put Campbell in, and the Tigers got a pair of clutch free throws from Spencer Thompson to secure the win.

"We were just lost. We had turned it over a couple times," McNeley said afterwards. "If he had hurt himself (again) I would never forgive myself."

The gamble paid off, as Campbell seemed to have a calming effect on his teammates and they stepped up to keep the game from getting away.

"I was pretty nervous," Campbell said. "I didn't know if my foot was gonna hold up or not."

When Campbell entered the game Nevada's student section erupted, with chants of "Camp-bell, Camp-bell" reverberating throughout the building.

The 6-1 guard looked up at his classmates and smiled, then despite missing his only field goal attempt, Campbell was one of three primary ballhandlers while the Tigers milked the clock.

Most importantly, Campbell didn't further injure his ankle.

"I knew, emotionally, he would stabilize us," McNeley said of his fourth-year starter.

Thompson, another senior, allowed the Tigers to escape with a win when he crashed the offensive boards on a missed Jordan Kerbs free throw, then he stepped to the line and knocked down a pair despite being only 2-for-4 from the charity stripe up to that point in the game.

Thompson's free throws made it 31-27 with only 16 seconds to go.

"There's your play of the ballgame right there," McNeley said. "That's the type of player Spencer is. He just hangs around and does what you need him to do."

"I figured I better step it up and make them," Thompson said. "I just had to adjust my free throws from earlier. I just followed the same routine and put them in."

Jordan Kerbs followed with two free throws of his own for the final margin.

The game wouldn't have been that close if Nevada had played the second half like they had the first.

Feeding the ball inside to 6-5 post James Tumm, the Tigers found early success. Tumm scored eight of his game-high 11 points in the first period.

Tumm also got the job done on the glass, pulling down 13 boards, nine of them in the first half.

The Tigers also played their best defense of the season in the first half, limiting Hoover, El Do's go-to player, to as many points as he had turnovers (two).

Juniors Brandon Davis and Dan Lovinger combined to cramp Hoover's style, guarding the El Do senior effectively throughout the game as the Tigers played straight man-to-man defense.

Kerbs played a steady game offensively, taking care of all of the ballhandling from his point guard position Kerbs scored 10 and turned the ball over only three times.

The offensive output from Tumm and Kerbs was vital with Campbell out and sharp-shooter Drew Weatherly struggling to score only two points.

Although offense for the entire game was at a premium.

Nevada led 18-10 at halftime, and with the score 27-22 to start the final period, the Tigers were content to just pass the ball around the perimeter, not even looking inside for much of the final period as they kept the Bulldogs at the defensive end and took the air out of the basketball.

McNeley said with Campbell out, he wasn't taking any chances.

"A win, we were going to take (Friday), it didn't matter how we do it," he said.

Notes: Hoover didn't start for the Bulldogs, instead coming off the bench with 5:38 left in the first period. He led El Do with nine points. ... Nevada held El Dorado Springs to only three field goals in the first half, as the Bulldogs were completely scoreless for a stretch of more than nine minutes in the first and second periods. ... Hoover's layups off the two steals were the only points for El Do in the fourth quarter, as the second layup was part of a three-point play when Hoover was fouled by Weatherly. ... El Dorado Springs won the JV game by one after a bucket by Nevada's Ben Fisher with one second left was waived off as he was called with an offensive foul.