Carson boys basketball overcomes sluggish start

Carson High got off to a lethargic start Tuesday night.

Maybe it was the absence of leading scorer Zach Weismann, who was at a off-season soccer function. Maybe it was just a hangover from the Las Vegas Tournament.

Regardless, the Senators spotted Fallon a one-point lead at the quarter, and then behind the offense of Will Holbert and David Eller, ripped off 35 points in the middle two quarters en route to an easy 64-45 nonleague victory at Morse Burley Gymnasium.

"We were a little dead tonight," Carson coach Bruce Barnes said. "We had no energy, none. I don't know whether it is the kids being out of school or coming back from Vegas.

"Not having him (Weismann) is big. He's a spark. We have to learn to play without him. Other guys stepped up. We always say that if someone is gone, it creates opportunities for other players."

In this case it was Eller (12 points), whose eight points and three rebounds in the second quarter enabled Carson to erase a 15-14 deficit and take a 35-23 lead into the locker room.

Fallon had closed to 22-19 on a Garrett Adams 3-pointer with 3:59 left in the half, and that's when Eller went off, scoring on a putback, lay-up and two free throws to make it 28-19 with 2:12 left.

"That's the best David Eller has played for us," Barnes said. "He's a wide body. He bangs around and takes up space. He knows his role, and he's good at accepting his role."

"He seals really well," Fallon coach Cory Williams said. "He knows how to take up space."

Joe Leatham completed the 12-2 run to make it 30-19. Holbert, who led all scorers with 17, scored on a putback with 1.2 left to make it 35-23.

Barnes changed things up to start the second half, and the move paid big dividends.

The Senators extended their 2-3 zone, and Fallon didn't adjust well.

Holbert scored on the Senators' first possession, and then Charlie Lockwood answered for Fallon. Holbert scored three straight buckets in a 20-second span, two of them after Fallon turnovers, including one on a nice feed from Matt Rutledge, to make it 43-25. Rob Valerius' bucket made it 45-25, completing the 10-2 surge.

"We came out and extended, and we got two or three quick steals out of it," Barnes said. "We got them on their heels a little bit."

Williams agreed.

"We stood around and tried to throw over the top," Williams said. "We're not good enough to come back from deficits like that because we're not a good offensive team.

"We're inexperienced. He changed defenses and got us out of our rhythm and we started turning the ball over."

Carson took an 18-point lead into the final quarter, and managed to outscore the Greenwave 15-14 thanks to a 7-for-12 effort from the floor. Still, it wasn't a smooth quarter, according to Barnes.

"We had a lot of different combinations out there," Barnes said. "We were moving people in and out. We were asking some of them to do things that we normally don't ask them to do."

Despite the absence of Weismann, Carson shot 28 of 53 from the floor, and many of those were transition lay-ups or putbacks by Eller.

CARSON JV 51, FALLON 37

The Senators outscored the Greenwave in every period en route to an easy win.

John Nuthall led Carson with 11 and Mitch Brantingham added nine. Jake Johnston and Brant Price led Fallon with 10 points apiece.