Two days after Ricky Correlli scored the game winning shot in a double overtime win over Fallon, Carson was hoping for some more late game magic against Foothill of Las Vegas.
With the Senators trailing 58-57 with only 1.5 seconds left in the game, senior Ed Jaquette nearly provided it but knocked down just 1-of-2 free throws as the game went into overtime.
In overtime, though, it was all Foothill as it beat Carson 70-64 on Friday night at Morse Burley Gymnasium. But the bigger and more athletic Falcons had all they could handle against pesky Senators, who played zone defense the entire game, forcing the opposition to beat them from the perimeter. And for the most part, they did. Foothill (4-1) made a dozen 3-pointers but it was clear the Falcons wanted to dominate inside against a Carson team that has only one player over 6-foot-2.
"We're going to have to zone a lot this season, especially against bigger teams," coach Bruce Barnes said. "They had a streak where they hit some 3's but we had give them something."
Carson (2-3) had to early on as 6-foot-5 post player Marques Roman scored four of his eight points in the first two minutes of the game on easy lay ups Also 6 -foot-4 swing man Harvey Perry, a junior transfer from Green Valley, scored 15 but did most of his damage from outside.
The zone eventually frustrated the Falcons, who already have wins over a pair of state tournament qualifiers from last year in Desert Pines and Las Vegas, so much that they provided just another reason why Nevada needs a shot clock.
After going 3-of-12 from behind the arc and 5-of-17 from the field in the third quarter and watching the Senators come back and cut their lead to 54-53, Foothill stalled, holding the ball for over four minutes in the fourth.
Barnes didn't mind.
"They kind of did us a favor. We wanted to be in the game in the fourth quarter and have a chance in the final minute and a half. They ran it down for us," Barnes said.
Once the Falcons started playing again, Carson proved it still could, too. Gary Borst hit a clutch 3-pointer with 25 seconds left that put the Senators up 57-56. It looked like it was going to be the game-winning shot until Perry was fouled with 17 seconds left and made a pair of free throws to put the Falcons back on top, 58-57.
In overtime, Carson trailed the entire time but got within three points after Jaquette's trey with 18 seconds remaining. That was as close as the Senators would get.
Jaquette led the team with 19 points and fellow senior Ryan Henry had an outstanding game shooting the ball, finishing with 15, including a two 3-pointers. And for the first time this season, it didn't look like Carson was relying on Ricky Correlli to score.
Correlli, who did finish with 11, was in foul trouble most of the game after picking up two in the first quarter. Andy Bohm finished with seven and Rory Wunsch six more for Carson, which plays at Sparks on Tuesday night before leaving for a tournament in San Diego later in the week.
"All the seniors that play for us have put in the time and have the green light whenever they have a good shot," Barnes said. "They're getting there. They had another good effort tonight. That's a top five team Vegas team. I knew they were going to be big and they had that Green Valley transfer (Perry) who I knew was stud."