RENO — The Greenwave basketball team brought its standing to an even 2-2 over the weekend, losing two games and and winning one during their first tournament at Damonte Ranch High School.
The team lost both of its games in the Railroad Invitational Tournament. The game against the McQueen Lancers ended in a 79-49 loss as did the game against Littleton, Colo. (Heritage), 82-36.
The Greenwave also played against Sparks High School on Saturday during the Rail City Classic. Fallon won 54-46.
Fallon coach Brad Barton said McQueen has had a very good basketball program the last several years, and Lancers had a great start to the game. He said it was a good opportunity for Fallon to face some good competition; the team also discovered some things they needed to improve.
“That was the purpose of us going to that tournament,” Barton said. “To play really good teams and see how fast we have to play and how well we have to execute to be really competitive.”
Friday’s game against Heritage was another learning experience for the Greenwave and highlighted some other areas to work on. Barton said he has the game on film, though, and the team would be reviewing the game to learn from it and adjust their play. The coach also saw some things he wants to adopt from the other teams’ strategies.
“We’re going to steal some of their ideas and move forward and become a quality basketball program,” he said.
Saturday was the turning point. The Greenwave played Sparks High School in a league match and put everything together for their first conference win.
Barton said the team played well, and everyone improved. He was particularly impressed with freshman Elijah Jackson, a point guard who made adjustments over the course of the tournament and ended up leading the team.
“It was pretty exciting to see,” Barton said of Jackson. “Him making those adjustments and responding to the coaching that we gave him.”
The coach also praised Brenden Larson for his game and how well he played with his passing and not making mistakes. Christian Nemeth was the highest scorer of the tournament.
Barton was not too upset about the two losses. He noted the reason they go to the early tournaments is to locate the holes that need patching and the areas the team can improve.
The team was also short two players over the weekend. Thomas Steele is still in recovery from an injury during football season and Dalton Kaady was unable to play. At the time of press, Barton said he was hoping Kaady would be back and ready to play in time for yesterday’s game against Lowry; Steele has been awaiting a doctor’s notice on how long before he can play.