Douglas boys fall; Reno wins

BY MIKE HOUSER

Appeal Sports Writer

RENO - Over the course of the season, Douglas coach Corey Thacker has made it known that his team's best shot at winning comes when it holds its opponents to 50 points or less in a game.

Against the ultra-athletic Desert Shields on Thursday, the Tigers couldn't hold Cheyenne to 50 first half-points.

The Desert Shields held a 51-16 lead at halftime and swept past the Tigers, 93-55, to advance to today's finals against Reno in the Class 4A state championships at Lawlor Events Center.

The Huskies took a 76-61 win over Foothill in the other semifinal game.

Sunset Region Cheyenne, now 19-7, ended Mojave's 22-game winning streak and defeated Bishop Gorman on the way to meeting the Tigers, against whom they continued their Cinderella run with a well-balanced attack.

Five players scored in double figures for Cheyenne - Ricky Henry with 17, Elijah Johnson (13), Demetric Williams (11) and Eric Leider and Christian Lightbourne, both of whom added 10.

"They had a real athletic team," said Douglas coach Corey Thacker. "They came to play tonight. We came in with stars in our eyes to start."

The Tigers ended up seeing stars early as Cheyenne held a 22-4 lead after the first quarter.

'We saw them on film and studied them, but they came out ready to go," Thacker said. "I take credit as the coach - we weren't ready to go. Nobody in the North is as athletic (as Cheyenne). Athletically speaking, they're like Hug with a lot of really good guys - that's as close as I can compare.

"We were trying to get back in transition right from the start. The floodgates were open. Both teams were nervous going in, but their team settled down; ours didn't."

The Desert Shields led by as many as 45 points twice - 73-28 and 74-29 - before the Tigers had a small rally to make the score a little more respectable.

Thacker, who was in his first year, said the tough loss - which ended Douglas' season at 21-11 - wouldn't put a damper on the positive things his team accomplished this year and last year, under former coach Rob Streeter.

"As a program, we made zone finals last year, made zone finals this year and made state this year," Thacker said. "It's great for the program. We've come a long way as a team. The kids have matured and grown. We've had a lot of things to work on and we were getting better as a team as the season went on."

Tip-off for today's boys championship game is 8 p.m.

RENO 76, FOOTHILL 61

A dominant inside game by the Huskies and another solid performance - both inside and outside - by junior point guard Austin Morgan guided the Huskies to today's championship game against Cheyenne at Lawlor Events Center.

Six-foot-eight senior Olek Czyz, a Duke signee, scored a team-high 25 points for Reno, which improved to 25-6 on the season.

But it was far from a one-man show for Reno, who got 21 points from Morgan and 13 more from 6-4 junior Zach Sanford, who along with 6-5 senior Cavin Hill and Czyz dominated the Falcons down low.

Playing in its first-ever state championship game, Sunrise Region champion Foothill - which took an 85-78 win over the Huskies in the preseason - got an outstanding performance from its 5-8 senior guard Earl Jones.

Jones scored a game-high 35 points, including 14 in the first quarter. Jones finished with seven 3-pointers, including four in the first quarter, but he didn't have enough help from the rest of the Falcons, who ended their season 23-9.

Reno, which won their first state title in 43 years in 2006, trailed 16-9 after one quarter, but rallied for a 34-29 halftime lead behind 13 first-half points from Morgan and 10 from Czyz.

Reno led by as many as 15 points (64-49) in the third quarter, but 15 fourth-quarter points by Jones closed the gap to five (66-61) with 2:27 to go before Reno pulled away.

With Galena winning the state championship last year, Reno will try to make it three in a row for the North for the first time since 1936-38, when Carson pulled the trick before the rise of the South.

GIRLS CLASS 4A STATE SEMIFINAL ROUND

RENO 58, SILVERADO 51

The Huskies overcame a determined performance by Skyhawks sophomore guard Shea Collins, who scored a game-high 24 points, to advance to today's championship game against Bishop Gorman at Lawlor Events Center.

Northern 4A regional champion Reno, now 29-3, was down 16-14 after the first period but took a 27-25 lead into halftime.

Christina Gough scored a team-high 11 points and Stephanie Rovetti added 10 for the Huskies, who led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter (51-41), before holding off a late charge by Silverado, which cut the score to 53-51 on a pair of Collins free throws with 1:32 to play.

Reno scored the last five points to end the Sunrise Region champion Skyhawks' season at 26-10. The Huskies are the last Northern Nevada team to win the state championship in 2000.

Tip-off for today's girls championship game is 6 p.m.

BISHOP GORMAN 58, REED 41

The two-time defending state champion Gaels looked to still be in top form as they pulled away from an early Raiders lead to advance to today's championship game against Reno.

Reed led 9-5 after one quarter and its high point was an 11-5 lead early in the second before Sunset Region champion Gorman, now 28-4 on the season, came back for a 22-16 halftime lead.

Aaryn Ellenberg led the Gaels with 23 points, followed by Dannielle Diamant (12) and Ashley Gale (10).

Oceanna Johnson and Kayla Williams each scored 12 points to lead Reed, which ended its season at 21-7.

Bishop Gorman took held a 39-26 lead over the Raiders before outscoring their opponents 19-14 in the final period.