Yes, the Paradise High boys basketball team did remember its one-point loss to Carson in the Capital Classic semifinals a year ago. The Bobcats got their chance for redemption Wednesday night, and they obviously showed up ready to play in a 58-45 victory against Carson in the semifinals of the 28th annual Capital Classic.
Brothers Michael and Jeff Maehl combined to score 42 points and lead Paradise (6-2) past the Senators (4-7) at Morse Burley Gymnasium. Michael Maehl, a 6-foot-2 senior, had a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and 6-foot sophomore Jeff Maehl chipped in with 19 points and six rebounds.
Paradise now advances to the Capital Classic finals for the first time and a 6 p.m. meeting tonight against Reed (10-1). Carson plays Archbishop Alter at 4:25 p.m. in the third-place game.
The Bobcats from Northern California took the floor with memories of their 60-59 loss to Carson last year, according to coach Kirt Woodman.
"The kids did remember that. They wanted this game tonight," Woodman said. "They came out and played very focused. I was happy with our discipline and with our defense."
Carson coach Bruce Barnes offered no excuses afterward.
"I thought we didn't compete tonight," Barnes said. "They flat-out beat us in every aspect of the game. This is a lesson I hope the kids learned tonight; we have to compete every single second of a game, and we didn't do that tonight.
"But give Paradise credit. They're a good team. Their perimeter guys are very solid."
Paradise took the lead for good behind a 20-2 run that extended between the final minute of the first quarter and the opening six minutes of the second. Even so, the Senators only trailed 29-22 at halftime, thanks to three-pointers from Brian Welch and Kyle Bacon inside the final two minutes.
"We got out after their shooters and that helped because they didn't have any threes in the second half," Woodman said. "That was huge because they can shoot the ball."
Paradise senior point guard Russell Miller was effective in his role of defending Welch, who scored all 10 of his points in the first half. By comparison, the 5-foot-11 senior scored five points, to go with six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the first quarter alone.
"We made sure we were aware of his presence on the floor in the second half. Russell only scored two points, but he did a great job of running the team as our point guard and he did a great job defensively," Woodman said of Miller, who dished out seven assists.
The Senators showed life in the fourth quarter when they cut a 49-32 deficit to 50-38 within a one-minute span. Tilor Smith fed Bacon for a layup, sophomore Brice Crook scored on a tip, and then Crook scored on a drive off Jeremiah Teeter's assist, at which time Woodman called for a time-out.
"I thought that last group went in there and flew around pretty good and kept us in the game," Barnes said.
Crook finished with nine points, while Bacon and Jake Jeffers added seven each, and John Gradert scored four of his six points in the fourth quarter.
MCQUEEN 60, DAYTON 49, OT
Dayton missed three chances to win in the final 32 seconds of regulation and then only scored two points in overtime as McQueen won the consolation bracket game.
Sophomore Peter Newell scored six of his game-high 27 points in the final 1:17 to help the Lancers (4-6) put the game away. Newell also scored 10 points in the third period when McQueen rallied from a 21-17 deficit.
The loss was a tough one for the Dust Devils (8-4), who have won once and lost two games in the past two days.
"I was major disappointed with our lack of discipline," Streeter said. "We didn't execute. We didn't battle on the boards. We weren't rotating. We were just ball-watching."
Dayton trailed 47-44 when Josh Aker stole the ball and fed Travis Wood for a layup with 44 seconds left in regulation. Moments later, Wood stole the ball, drove downcourt and drew an intentional foul that sent him to the free throw line for two shots - with the Dust Devils retaining possession of the ball after that. Wood missed both free throws, then Danny Hopper was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and made one of two shots to tie the score at 47 with 30 seconds showing on the clock. The Dust Devils had one more chance to win, but Shane Castro's pressured shot from the three-point arc was off target.
Castro finished as Dayton's leading scorer with 12 points, eight of which came in the second quarter. Castro hit a pair of three-pointers in the second period.
Hopper also scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in the fourth quarter to help the Dust Devils in their comeback. Travis Wood scored nine and Trent Wood added eight.
Sean Davies also scored 12 points for McQueen, including a key shot early in overtime. Jacoby Covington scored the first basket in overtime to give the Lancers a lead they never relinquished.
Dayton plays Damonte Ranch in the seventh-place game at 1:15 p.m. today. McQueen plays Spring Creek at 2:50 p.m. in the consolation final.
REED 53, BISHOP ALTER 45
In the other semifinal on Wednesday, Bishop Alter (Kettering, Ohio) rallied from a 32-18 halftime deficit and only trailed by two points with one minute remaining before Reed (10-1) closed out a game that was a rematch of the 2001 Capital Classic championship game.
Reed lost that game three years ago, but this time, 6-foot-7 senior Kevin Berry scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter to help the Raiders win. Berry shot 11 for 12 from the free throw line and was 6-for-6 in the final 23 seconds.
J.J. Lauman and Shane Connor scored 10 points each to lead Alter. Connor hit back-to-back three-pointers as Alter cut the gap to 39-38 with 5:04 to go. Lauman, sophomore point guard, also buried a momentum-building three early in the third quarter.
SPRING CREEK 55, DAMONTE RANCH 48
Spring Creek shot 11-for-16 from the free throw line, while David Neumann and Bryan Reinschmidt connected on big three-pointers in the fourth quarter as Spring Creek turned back Damonte Ranch in a consolation bracket game.
The Spartans led 36-35 at the end of three quarters.
Neumann finished with a game-high 15 points, seven in the final period, and James Edwards scored 14 for Spring Creek. Edwards was five-for-six from the line in the final period.
Chris Clevas and Andre Shaw scored 13 points each to lead Damonte Ranch.
Contact Dave Price at dprice@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1220.