Carl Junction sweeps Nevada

The Nevada Tigers and Lady Tigers basketball teams came home for the first time on a cold, icy Tuesday evening against Carl Junction.

The Lady Bulldogs were out for revenge after Nevada went to their home court and defeated them by a final score of 50-21 just last week. Revenge is exactly what Carl Junction would get as Nevada ultimately fell in the game by a final score of 51-42.

The girls' game got off to a decent start for Nevada as their very physical full court press defense was able to lift them to a 10-9 lead. Poor ball handling plagued the Lady Bulldogs throughout the opening quarter, helping Nevada to a staggering eight steals in the frame.

Turnovers plagued both sides in the second period and Nevada began to experience marked shooting troubles. Their strong defense was able to put up another five steals in the frame, but Carl Junction was still able to pull out to a 7-point, 21-14 lead by the final buzzer.

Neither team really shot well from the free-throw line, but Carl Junction was able to get the better of that exchange, shooting 8-for-15 to Nevada's 2-for-7. The 13 steals that the Lady Tiger defense was able to come up with were the only thing that really kept Nevada in the game.

Nevada's defense switched out of their man-to-man pressure to open the second half and began to use their intense 2-3 zone, but to no avail.

Poor shooting and a strong Carl Junction defense, coupled with some substantial foul troubles, gave Nevada a seemingly insurmountable, 38-27 deficit going into the game's final period. "It was just a struggle to score," head coach Brent Bartlett said.

Jordan Bell fouled out for Nevada with 7:32 to go in the game and Taylor Means was being forced to play dangerously with four fouls through most of the second half. Nevada's shooting never really recovered in the fourth quarter and The Lady Bulldogs were eventually able to come out on top by a final score of 51-42.

After the game, a dejected Bartlett said, "It's very tough to take, almost very embarrassing." The offensive effort in the game for Carl Junction was led by MacKenzie Valenti, who put up 17 points on the night, while Means led Nevada with 7. Neither team had a strong performance at the charity stripe as Carl Junction finished at 15-for-20 to Nevada's 12-for-30.

The boys' game didn't prove to have much better results for Nevada, as the Tigers fought hard for most of the night, but ultimately fell by a final score of 56-44.

The first quarter seemed to be a defensive clinic by the visitors they were able to hold Nevada to just 7 points in the period. Poor shooting by the Tigers was also a major contributor to the low total and the Tigers ultimately found themselves with a 16-7 deficit heading into the second.

"It's no secret that things don't come easy for us on the offensive end of the floor," head coach John McNeley said of Nevada's shooting woes.

Both teams had trouble knocking down shots in the second quarter, but the Tigers were seemingly able to find their groove late and started to cut into the Bulldogs' lead. Nevada's strong defense helped their cause as well, and the Tigers were ultimately able to cut the lead to four and took a 24-20 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

Both teams exhibited some strong rebounding early in the second half and Nevada's aggressive defense started to bite them as the Bulldogs were able to reach the free-throw line four times in the third quarter alone. Carl Junction outscored Nevada 15-13 in the period to take a 39-33 lead into the game's final frame.

Poor shooting plagued the Tigers for the rest of the game and Carl Junction was finally able to gain some separation down the stretch. Nevada put up just 11 points in the final period to Carl Junction's 17 to allow the Bulldogs to take the 56-44 victory.

After the game, McNeley said, "We played two and a half to three good quarters of basketball. This was a win that wasn't out of the realm of possibility."

The JV boys were in action on the night as well, allowing Carl Junction to complete the sweep with a 51-50 win in the night's first game. The freshman boys suffered a loss to Carl Junction on Monday night as they traveled to the Bulldogs' home court and fell by a final score of 49-36.

With these latest losses, the boys' record falls to 0-4, while the girls drop to 1-3 on the year.