Golden State forward Kevon Looney (5) blocks a shot by Detroit forward Anthony Tolliver during the second quarter Friday.
When you lose two one-point games to start the season and then get blown out by 44 points the next time out, you will take a win any way you can get one.
Meet the Carson Senators.
Despite going scoreless for 9-minutes and 9-seconds in the second half, turning the ball over 28 times and shooting 29.7 from the floor, the Senators edged Hug, 38-30, Friday night at Morse Burley Gym.
“It wasn’t the prettiest,” said guard Abel Carter, who spearheaded a fourth-quarter surge with stellar defense and clutch free-throw shooting. “It was definitely good to get that first win, no matter what.
“There were a lot of fouls, and it slowed down the game. We fought hard (the whole way).”
Carson’s mistakes only cost it 12 points, and Hug went 13-for-46 from the floor and 2-for-18 from the free-throw line.
“We came in knowing the game was going to be a fight, and we went after it,” Carson coach Jordan Glover said. “We played pretty good defense.
“Their pressure sped us up. We’d get a rebound, look downcourt and throw it away. Some of it is carelessness. You don’t get many shots (up) when you have a lot of empty possessions. It’s a process.”
That may be, but the road doesn’t get any easier, especially in the Sierra League with the likes of Bishop Manogue and Galena (twice each), and Reno still to play from the High Desert on Jan. 4.
Carson ended the first half on a 7-0 run thanks to a 3-pointer by Jonny Randall, a bucket by Derek Barry and two free throws by Kahle Good to take a 23-15 lead into the locker room. The Senators’ first-half offense was led by Trent Robison and Barry, who had eight points each.
Robison missed the final 4:56 of the opening half after picking up his third personal foul.
The Senators quickly extended the lead to 29-15 when Randall and Dawson Lamb buried 3-pointers in the first 90 seconds of the period.
The game went south quickly for the Senators, as Carter picked up his third foul with 7:16 left and Hunter Rauh picked up his fourth with 6:31 remaining. Robison picked up his fourth a minute later.
Carson went 0-for-6 in the final 6:49 of the quarter and turned the ball over eight times. Hug went on a 7-0 run, cutting the lead to 29-22 with four minutes left, and that’s the way the third quarter ended as both teams struggled offensively.
Two baskets by Hug’s Trayvon Cotton cut Carson’s lead to 30-26 with 5:18 remaining.
That’s when Carter became a key figure at both ends of the floor.
He got an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and was fouled. He made both free throws to up Carson’s advantage to 32-26 with 4:45 left. He forced a turnover on the ensuing possession, and was fouled. He drained one of two from the line to make it 33-26 with 4:22 left.
Hug’s Brandon Garner converted a Carson turnover into a basket to make it 33-28, but Carter drained a free throw to make it a two-possession game with 3:03 left.
Hug and Carson traded two empty possessions before Hug’s Tevin Grant scored on a putback with 1:57 left to make it 34-30. The Senators got two free throws each from Carter and Robison in the final 42 seconds to put it away.