Fallon center Braxton Hunter looks to dirve the lane during the Greenwave's 68-47 win over South Tahoe on Saturday at the Elmo Dericco Gym.
It was a much-needed and convincing win for the Fallon boys basketball team.
The Greenwave never trailed as Fallon rolled to a 68-47 win over South Tahoe in a Northern Division I-A matchup on Saturday.
Led by a balanced scoring attack, the Wave pulled away in the third quarter to improve to 5-3 in league play and 8-9 overall. South Tahoe, meanwhile, falls to 5-3, 9-8.
Both clubs, though, are still in the chase for the postseason and the race became even tighter as Spring Creek (6-2, 8-2) knocked off Lowry (6-2, 11-7), 43-40, and are now tied for second place.
“I think the key was the way we finished our game against Sparks,” Fallon coach Brad Barton said of the 62-34 win over the Railroaders. “I think we took the momentum of that game and it drove right into this.”
Fallon’s third quarter blew the game open as the Wave outscored the Vikings 24-14 to push their lead to 53-35.
Forward Jeff Evett, who had a game-high 18 points, ignited the run with two jumpers and a 3-pointer, while center Braxton Hunter added seven points in the period.
The Wave opened the quarter with a 14-4 run to grab a 43-25 lead.
South Tahoe’s offense, though, struggled to crack Fallon’s 1-3-1 zone defense. The Vikings were led by Harry Chaknakis-Moses’s team-high 13 points and 10 from Denzel Perez.
“We stayed in that 1-3-1 … and it paid off,” Barton added. “We are pretty long down the middle … it’s hard to skip the ball to the other side.”
Fallon, led by Evett, had three players in double figures as Connor Richardson and Dylan Ridenour each had 12 including a pair of 3-pointers by Ridenour. Hunter finished the game with nine as Fallon concluded a weekend sweep. The Wave dropped Sparks, 62-34, on Friday.
“It was huge for us,” Evett said. “We started out strong and kept it going. I think we were attacking well and shots were falling early.”
Once again, Fallon’s balance scoring attack kept the defense honest and away from focusing solely on Evett. Ridenour and Richardson each were solid on the perimeter and slashing to the hoop.
Fallon also used a trio of scorers to pull away from Sparks as Ettor Neiderauer poured in 10 points on Friday.
“Our backcourt is really solid right now,” Barton said. “We got reinforcements coming off the bench. Everybody comes in and gets points.”
Wave drills Railroaders
Fallon’s weekend sweep started slow as the Wave struggled to find its groove on Friday in a 62-34 win over Sparks.
The Railroaders (0-7, 4-11) led 8-6 after the first period as Fallon’s shots were coming up short.
However, Ridenour exploded for eight points including a beautiful reverse layup to ignite Fallon’s comeback. Trailing 16-14, Ridenour’s layup tied the game and a 3-pointer by Neiderauer gave Fallon a 19-16 advantage.
From there, Evett found his shot and scored Fallon’s final nine points of the period for a 29-20 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Fallon’s defense was suffocating, holding Sparks to three points as the Wave built a 44-23 lead.