Carson comes up short against Reed

SPARKS - When the Carson High basketball schedule came out, coach Bruce Barnes thought Reed was one of the away games his Senators could win.

The Senators came close, but we all know by now that only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and moral victories aren't something that Barnes & Co. care about in the slightest.

Carson made a nice fourth-quarter run against Reed, but still came out on the short end of a 45-40 decision Tuesday night in a 4A crossover boys basketball game.

"It's never going to be easy for us," Barnes said. "It was a game we really could have won and had opportunities to win."

Reed had what should have been a comfortable 41-33 lead with 4:11 remaining. That's when Carson caught fire, forcing four Reed turnovers in the next three-plus minutes to cut the lead to 41-40 with 51.6 left.

Trey Jensen started the barrage with a 3-pointer, and following a Reed turnover, Ty Keefer rebounded a Jensen miss, was fouled, and hit one of two foul shots to make it 41-37. Both teams came up empty on their next four possessions. Brian Barnes made it 41-40 on a three-point play following a Reed turnover.

Reed's A.J. Silva then drained a free throw to make it 42-40 with 46.3 left. Carson came down looking for the tying or go-ahead basket. The Senators got the ball in the left corner to Jensen, but his shot was off the mark.

Carson tried to press in the backcourt, and Silva converted a fast-break layup at the other end or a 44-40 lead. Jensen put up another three, but again was off the mark. Carson fouled Andre Franklin after the miss, and he closed out the game with a free throw.

"Trey and Brian (Barnes) are our best 3-point shooters," coach Barnes said. "He got a wide-open look in the corner. I could have called a time out, but we wouldn't have gotten a better shot. They were denying us on the inside and we had to back it out.

"We went to a smaller lineup in the second half and were flying around. I think it had an impact on what they were trying to do."

Reed coach Dustin Hall agreed.

"We don't have a lot of late-game experience," Hall said. "We got tentative instead of being aggressive on offense.

"It wasn't the prettiest of wins. Both teams fought hard. We were lucky enough to hit a couple more shots. Every time they took a big shot it rimmed out."

The first half was just as close as the end of the game. There were four ties in the opening 16 minutes.

Chris Steele's two free throws tied the game at 18 with 2:47 left, but Reed got back-to-back 3-pointers by Silva and Erik Martinez to take a 24-18 at the half.

Those two buckets gave Reed some momentum, which carried into the second half. The Raiders opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run, as Martinez and Kyle Ross hit 3-pointers to give Reed a 32-20 advantage.

Carson trailed 35-26 after three, but five straight points by Barnes, including a 3-pointer, and a bucket by Steele closed the Reed lead to 35-33 with 6:14 left. A 6-0 run by the Raiders, including a 3-pointer by Martinez made it 41-33, setting up the frantic finish by Carson.

CHS JV BOYS LOSE

SPARKS - The Senators fell behind by 16 points at halftime and ended up losing 63-50 to Reed.

Rafe King and Bruce McIntosh led Carson with 12 points, while Sage Smith added 10 points.

FRESHMAN BASKETBALL, 42-30

The Carson High freshman basketball team defeated Reed, 42-30 Tuesday night. Leading the Senators were Kyle Denning with 15 points and Alan Cohen with 10 points.

REED (45) - Ross 15, Raatz 7, Ma 5, Velazquez 2, Silva 6, Martinez 9, Franklin 1. Totals 17 3-6 45.

CARSON (40) - Cooper 6, Steele 10, Keefer 3, Jensen 9, Barnes 12. Totals 15 8-9 40.