Hume takes loss at Class 1 sectional game, coach blames fatigue and short roster

By Chris Patch

Nevada Daily Mail

Head coach Scott Morrison didn't sum up Hume's 54-39 loss to Fair Play Tuesday in the Class 1 sectional with X's and O's, but rather with raw arithmetic.

"It's just fatigue, you know, numbers." Morrison said exiting the Hume locker room following the loss.

Hume High School, which has an enrollment of 43 students, faced the unenviable task of knocking off District 11 champion Fair Play: Enrollment 124. The game slowly turned into a battle of attrition as Fair Play liberally subbed down the stretch and Hume's six man rotation wore down.

Early on Hume hung tough with Fair Play, ending the first quarter in a 10-10. Fair Play then went into a full-court press that resulted in more easy Hume buckets than turnovers. Hume's guards, who had seen presses all year, handled the press well enough to force Fair Play out of it after half-time, where Hume trailed 26-20.

"I thought we could get matched up quicker with them, and I think we did but then they hurt us a little bit with their dribble penetration," Fair Play head coach Lynn Long said. "We ended up having to change again to a match-up zone."

In the second half Hume began to unravel. Fair Play's zone kept them out of the paint where they had done much of their damage in the first half. Hume started the half hot with a 7-2 run but eventually the perimeter shots stopped falling and the game began to slip away for the Hornets.

"They had to start shooting it up, so that meant they were settling for quick shots," Long said. "We got into a defense that kept them from penetrating so they just started passing around and shooting and that kind of worked to our advantage."

The shots stopped falling and Fair Play began to pull away. A seven-point Fair Play lead at the end of the third quickly ballooned to double-digits in the fourth quarter and the reality of Hume's numerical disadvantage started to become evident.

Hume's sloppy ball handling and cold shooting spelled doom for the Hornets, who were visibly exhausted by the end of the game. Down 11 late, Hume started fouling but it was too late as Fair Play enjoyed a methodical sectional victory.

"They were deeper than us, I think we just got fatigued down the line," Morrison said. "We've got 43 students 9-12 and they've got 124. If I could match my six against any of their six and not give them any of their five subs and think we'd beat them. But we just got fatigued in the end. We played too hard."

Hume never found an answer for the second-half zone Fair Play threw at them. Perimeter passing too often ended in undesirable shots and a defensive rebound. Coupled with physical exhaustion, it was a toxic recipe for the District 12 champions.

"They had a lot of possessions where they got one shot and they were done and they missed that shot," Long said. "Part of that may have been tired legs, part of that may have been that they weren't getting as good of looks because we were matched up with them a little bit better."

Hume, is nonetheless a repeat District 12 champion and with a core group of players returning have their sights set on next year.

"It was a heck of a season you know," Morrison said. "We went 24-5 and won back-to-back district titles. I've got five or six back, It was a heck of a season, and I'm very proud of them."

Ryan Austin led losing Hornets in scoring with 11, followed by Clinton Irwin with 10. Kris Sears and Cody Franklin chipped in 7 along with 4 points from Andy Yarick.