MINDEN - There is little room for error for any team playing with its back to the wall, as the Douglas High School boys basketball team found out on Tuesday night.
The Tigers cracked the door open ever so slightly, and the visiting Fallon Greenwave rushed through it in the fourth quarter en route to a playoff-enhancing 68-60 Northern 4A Division II victory at Douglas.
Fallon took advantage of offensive rebounding and some sharpshooting from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to break open a one-point struggle and send the Tigers to a defeat that eliminated them from contention in the Division II playoff picture.
Fallon is 4-5 in division play with three games remaining. Douglas is now 2-8 with two games to go, including a home date against Hug on Friday night.
"We just didn't do the little things like we needed to," Douglas coach Keith Lewis said. "We didn't do a good job of boxing out underneath and gave up too many second chances on free throws as a result, and we didn't get loose balls. Basketball is a game of little things and we didn't do those."
The Greenwave managed to cash in on their opportunities, and moved into sole possession of third place after Hug's loss on Tuesday.
"This win was a big one for us," Fallon coach Corey Williams said. "This place always scares me; we've always struggled here. And give Douglas credit, they played their butts off. We had to work for everything we got."
Fallon converted three rebounds on missed free throws into baskets in the final 10 minutes, one by Ricky Burrell to give the Greenwave a lead and two by Aarik Wilson down the stretch that helped seal the victory.
"It was about time," Williams shrugged afterward. "I believe they out-rebounded us the whole game, at least it seemed that way."
The Greenwave shot 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 61 seconds to cap off a fourth quarter in which they outscored Douglas 24-17. Seven different players scored for Fallon in that final period, led by Ken Redner with seven points.
"In the past, the fourth quarter hasn't been our quarter," Williams said. "We haven't been able to get over the hump, but tonight we did."
Seth Lee poured in a game-high 31 points for Douglas, including a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that kept the Tigers within striking distance. Two of those came in the final 53 seconds.
Mike Saylo contributed 17 points, including a driving left-handed layup off a Jared Petersen assist that gave Douglas its last lead - 43-41 with 41 seconds remaining in the third period. Kyle Baker also scored 11 for the Tigers, including three 3-pointers.
Fallon plays at Wooster on Saturday and then hosts Carson on Tuesday and South Tahoe on Friday.
J.V. score ... Erik Olsen scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Douglas J.V. team rally to a 58-51 win against Fallon. Douglas trailed 35-32 at the end of three quarters but came back behind Olsen and Matt Saylo, who scored seven of his 13 points in the final period. Will Thomas finished as the team's top scorer with 17 points.