Tigers fall short in opening round of Mustang Tournament

The Nevada Tigers competed in the Mustang Tournament in Anderson, Mo., for the first time in their basketball career history Thursday afternoon, but wished things would have turned out differently against the Springdale Bulldogs from Arkansas. The Tigers would lose to the Bulldogs 56-26 to now move to 1-6 in 2022.

“I am proud of our guys for battling hard and keeping it close,” quoted Shaun Gray, who is the head coach for the Nevada Tiger basketball program. “We were able to keep it a half court game in the first quarter which really helped us. Our zone was active as well today.”

The Tigers actually held the 6-2 Bulldogs down in the first quarter of play. Nevada was able to slow down the tempo to control the ball more often, in which both teams tied at the end of the period 11-11. The second quarter is where Nevada seemed to lose their pace a bit, as the bulldogs added 16 points to their side of the scoreboard compared to Nevada’s five points, making it 27-16 with Springdale in the lead.

The Tigers couldn’t seem to land back on their feet for the second half, with the score in the third quarter being 44-22 with the bulldogs now dragging Nevada by their tails. Springdale and Nevada both replaced their starters for JV players for the fourth quarter, and Nevada would lose their sixth game of the year with a final score of 56-26.

“The pressure started to wear us down in the second half,” quoted Coach Gray, talking about the Tigers' performance against Springdale. “That led to them (Bulldogs) getting out in transition. In a full court game they are very tough to stop.” Nevada did not have a single player score double digit points. Top scorers were No. 1 Jack Cheaney (eight points), No. 2 Riddick Shook (seven points), and No. 2 Drew Beachler (six points).

The Tigers will play against the 3-2 Richmond Spartans from Richmond, Mo., this afternoon at 3 p.m. at McDonald County High School. Coach Gray told Nevada Daily Mail, “They have been to back to back state quarterfinals and have 6’8” forward Jack Gogue that will be a threat. They are a tough team that we will have to really clog the paint against. Rebounding will also be a big factor in tomorrow's game. If we can keep them out of the paint and off the glass, we should have a good chance down the stretch.”