After the Douglas and Galena boys basketball teams matched each other punch-for-punch through most of three quarters, it was the Grizzlies who pieced together the first extended run of the ball game midway through the second half.
The run, an 18-6 stretch that saw Douglas go without a field goal for a full six minutes, was enough to push Galena over the top in a 68-56 upset win over the Tigers in Reno.
The loss was the second in a row for the Tigers (3-2, 2-1 Northern Division I), who will next compete in the Wild West Shootout against a field that includes Mountain View (Arizona) and Bishop Gorman.
Galena, which had trailed throughout the game Tuesday night, used an 8-0 run over the final 2:20 of the third quarter to gain its first lead.
"We let them get out in transition and we didn't get back to defend it," Douglas coach Corey Thacker said. "And that started because we didn't really have an offensive flow. There were part where we were standing around watching and they made us pay for it.
"Two losses now where we've stood around and watched. In our wins, it's the opposite."
Douglas battled to a slight 12-9 lead through the first quarter and rode an 11-2 run between the quarters to push the difference to 20-11.
Douglas senior Hunter Myers, who led all scorers with 22 points, scored six points during the run.
Galena didn't back down, though, answering with an 8-3 run sandwiched by a pair of 3-pointers to cut the gap to 23-19.
From there, the teams matched each other evenly, settling for a 27-24 score in Douglas' favor.
Joe Syammach hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, giving Douglas what would be its largest remaining lead of the game at six points. The schools volleyed 4-0 spurts at each other over the next two minutes, with Galena eventually closing to within two points at 34-32.
Myers sandwiched a layup and a pair of free throws around a runner from Galena's Kirk Gunderson to set the score at 38-34 with 2:41 remaining in the third.
Galena's 6-6 sophomore center Zack Lessinger then hit back-to-back baskets on breakaways to launch the 8-0 run that put Galena up for good.
A trio of Myers free throws to open the fourth quarter brought Douglas back to within 42-21, but Galena pushed its lead to five on baskets from Gunderson and Trevor Larson.
A 3-pointer from Max Erickson and a converted slam dunk and free throw from EJ Poulsen later put the Grizzlies up 49-43, essentially sealing the win. From there, Galena was able to sink nine of its last 12 free throws to put the game out of reach.
Pat Johnson had 14 points for Douglas and James Herrick added 10. The remainder of the Tigers' scoring came from Joe Syammach, Sam Broersma, Austin Evans (three each) and Jaden Wass (one).
Douglas slid into its first two-game losing streak since last December with powerhouse Mountain View looming on Thursday (7:30 p.m. at Manogue).
"I love it," Thacker said. "We can't just go 'Hey, we're going to have an easy game. We want to challenge ourselves and get our guys to step up. We'll take the opportunities we get, and this is a great opportunity. We either learn or we don't. I'll take my chances with these kids."
DOUGLAS 53, GALENA 24
The Douglas High girls' basketball team extended its win streak to four with a solid 53-24 win over Galena Tuesday night in Reno.
The win marked Douglas' sixth in its last seven games as the Lady Tigers improved to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in Northern Division I action.
It was also Douglas' first win at Galena since the 2003 playoffs.
Douglas used a 10-2 run to start the game and a big 17-4 run to start the third to provide much of the difference on the scoreboard.
"We challenged the kids at halftime because at 27-10, we knew the game was far from over," Douglas coach Werner Christen said. "We had to start the third quarter well. We didn't want to let Galena back in and we've had some history of not playing good second halves in this gym.
"The kids responded and that was pretty much the game right there."
Galena came out in the third quarter running a full court press that has given Douglas some trouble from other opponents this season.
The Tigers responded by picking the press apart and feasting off backdoor cuts to the basket by Desiree Cage, McKenna Kynett, Mandy Weaver, Ericka Munoz and Leonna Mortimer.
"The reason the press was better was we were holding the ball too much previously and the kids just swung the ball quicker tonight," Christen said. "That opens up the lanes and opens up the cuts much better.
"We were real happy with them tonight, running the adjustments we gave them at halftime."
Kynett led the Tigers with 10 points while Diana Regalado had seven and Corryne Millett added five.
Weaver, Mortimer, Cage, Kassidy Freitas and Yvette Schlee each put up four points, Kelly Sonnemann, Munoz and Maddy Lowe each had three and Katie McCullough scored two points.
"I was really happy with how we started the game too," Christen said. "We wanted to get a quick start and we did. That got us comfortable, we got our tempo going and it went pretty well from there."