Nevada rally falls just short

Sunday, January 27, 2008

NEVADA, Mo. -- Kansas City (Mo.) Renaissance Academy defeated the Nevada Tigers 56-53 Friday night in a game that went down to the final buzzer to decide the winner.

With a three point lead, one-tenth of a second on the clock and a Renaissance player at the charity stripe, the game appeared to be over when a Renaissance player committed a lane violation giving Nevada the ball under the Renaissance basket.

The full court pass to Dan Lovinger was successful, but his shot at the buzzer missed, giving the Tigers their second loss in the Ninth Annual Tiger Classic Basketball Tournament and ending any possible chance for them to win the tournament for the third straight year.

"It was a physical game," Nevada head coach John McNeley said after Friday's game.

McNeley said that Renaissance was a team that could easily come back from a 10 or 15 point deficit to win.

He said looking back on the first half, if Nevada's defense had done a couple of things differently the game might have had a different outcome.

"In the second half I thought we competed hard. More like a team with a desire to win," McNeley said.

The Tigers kept the game close during the first quarter and were tied at 13 with one minute left and kept it there until Renaissance made a three-point play with 3 seconds left for a 17-13 lead.

In the second period the Tigers let the game get out of their control, trailing 29-20 at the half.

McNeley said that during half-time he did not talk about how to win, but rather what it is like to give your full effort on the court.

"I want the seniors to be able to experience what it's like to give it all their effort, not in spurts, but all the time," he said of the eight seniors on the team.

"I have some seniors who this means a lot to," he said.

In the second half Renaissance extended their lead to 13 points before the Tigers started to fight their way back into the game, ending the third period down 41-33.

Ten points by senior David Cavener in the fourth quarter keyed the Tigers drive to come within three points at the final buzzer.

Jordan Kerbs led the Tigers with 18 points including 8-12 free throw, followed by Brandon Davis with 14 points, David Cavener with 10 points, including two treys, Parker Richardson with five points and Dan Lovinger, Kyle Hughes and Trevor Hinkle with two points each.

Bill Wheeler set the pace for K.C. Renaissance Academy with 22 points, followed by Lamont Conner with 11, Lonnie Johnson with seven, Javaun Tanner and Dominique Johnson with six points each, Louis Reed with three and Aubrea Smith with two points.

Tournament action concluded on Saturday with the Nevada Lady Tigers playing Raymore-Peculiar for third place, the Lady Tigers junior varsity playing Kansas City Southeast for seventh place and the Nevada boys playing the Carthage Tigers.

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