Late rally comes up short for Senators

BY MIKE HOUSER

Appeal Sports Writer

RENO - For three quarters the Carson Senators boys basketball team arguably was having its worst game of the season as it trailed 51-27 going into the fourth.

But even though they would end up losing 59-51 to the Mustangs Friday at Damonte Ranch High School, the Senators nearly made a miraculous recovery.

Senior guard Caleb Carter scored eight of his 10 points and senior guard Zach Rispin scored five of his nine points in the fourth quarter to draw Carson to within six points, at 57-51, with 44 seconds to go.

Although the Mustangs would bend, they did not break and Kyle Brush made 2-of-4 free throws down the stretch to preserve the win for Damonte Ranch, which moved to 5-6 in the Sierra League, 7-15 overall.

Carson, fighting along with the Mustangs, North Valleys and South Tahoe for the fourth and final playoff spot, fell to 3-7 and 10-14.

"We don't know why we need to get down so much in order to start playing with a sense of urgency," said Carson coach Bruce Barnes. "Being on the brink of elimination of the playoffs should give us enough urgency from the beginning of the game, I think.

"We were very lethargic this game - actually it's been for a few games now. We get behind, then we turn it on. Too little, too late."

For the Mustangs, who are in their fourth varsity season and are seeking to make the playoffs for the first time in school history, it was just enough at the right time.

"It was a good game," said Torrey Sheets, who has coached the Mustangs for all five of their seasons, including their first year as a junior varsity squad. "They really took it to us over at Carson (a 74-41 win for the Senators in their first meeting this season). The thing about those guys and coach Barnes is even when we were up by 24, I never felt comfortable. Those kids played hard. We got a little sloppy at the end. We played tight."

Damonte Ranch was more efficient shooting the ball - it was 22-of-38 from the field as compared to 17-of-63 for Carson - and turned a 19-16 first quarter lead into a 32-22 lead at halftime.

The Senators scored only five points in the third quarter, while the Mustangs scored 19 to push Carson to the brink.

Kelton Hall led Damonte with 17 points, followed by Brush with 12 and Jake Johnson with 10.

"Kelton Hall has been really solid for us," Sheets said. "Kyle Brush - he had a good game for us tonight. He handled the pressure and delivered passes. Jake Johnson had a couple of threes. We're starting to learn the value of every possession."

And, even though they may not be speaking about it yet, they're learning what it takes to break through for their first postseason appearance. Not that Sheets was going to give that possibility any lip service.

"What we're going to talk about tonight is to enjoy the victory and get after it tomorrow (against Reno)," Sheets said.

Matt Rutledge led all Carson scorers with 11 points, followed by Carter, Rispin and freshman Brian Barnes, who had nine.

Carson was down to eight players after Uriel Duran had to travel to Arizona to visit a sick family member and Steve Fowzer sat on the bench after violating an unspecified team rule.

"That had nothing to do with the first half," Barnes said. "We ran out of gas toward the end of the game - no doubt about it. You expend a lot of energy coming back from 24."

Even though their backs are against the wall, the Senators are still in the playoff hunt if they can win their last three games against North Valleys, Wooster and South Tahoe.

"The bottom line is, if we do what we need to do, we won't have to worry about everyone else taking care of our work," Barnes said. "It's a matter of going hard out there, flying around and creating chaos. That leads to turnovers, which we feed on. We need to create energy on defense."

Carson will host North Valleys today at 5 p.m. The Senators took a 64-61 win in their first meeting.

"North Valleys is a very good basketball team," Barnes said. "They are all perimeter guys, with one good guy in the middle. If we do what we need to do, we'll be fine. If we come out lethargic, we'll be in the same boat.

"I'm hoping we come out like caged lions. It's do or die. There are no more tomorrows. If we lose to North Valleys, we'll need a lot of help."