Thomas Steele throws the ball to the net as Josh Kirk (4) and Justin Turner of the Vaqueros prepare for the rebound.
Fernley ended the Greenwave’s short winning streak in the Elmo Dericco Gym Tuesday, taking a 47-34 Northern 3A win and making them 8-9 overall and 5-4 in league.
The Greenwave started quickly by taking a 6-point lead before the Vaqueros scored. Fallon held its lead through most of the first quarter, but Fernley caught up. In the final moments they tied the game, then a trey by Dario Ceresola pushed the Vaqueros ahead 13-10.
The second quarter opened in a stalemate; the score went back and forth as the teams fought for supremacy. Fernley broke away though, pulling ahead to a 5-point lead. At halftime, the Vaqueros led 23-17.
The third quarter was intense. Both teams’ defenses held each other back. Fallon recovered and nearly tied the game, ending the quarter trailing 25-23.
The Vaqueros dominated in the final quarter. Their defense kept Fallon down as they sank basket after basket. The Greenwave tried to rally, but their efforts led to free throws for Fernley. With less than a minute left, it looked like the Greenwave might push the game to overtime, but free throws by Fernley’s Zach Burns put them too far ahead.
Fallon coach Brad Barton said his team had trouble getting its offense going; there were a number of good shots, but they wouldn’t go in. He said Fernley has much offensive power, so that struggle made it hard to beat them.
“Fernley knows how to play the game,” he said. “They’ve got some good shooters, some good scorers and they played really good defense tonight and kept us off our offense. So hats off to them, they played a great basketball game.”
Barton said the game was a team effort and they got points across the board. John Cooley led the team with nine points (three rebounds) while Elijah Jackson tallied eight (two rebounds) and Dalton Kaady six (three rebounds).
He praised Cooley for his defense. Barton said Cooley had been told to cover Burns and the efforts helped spark Fallon’s defense.
“He was our best defensive player and our best offensive player,” Barton said. “That’s a sophomore having a great game … without him playing Burns, we would have lost a lot worse than that.”
Barton said today’s 7:30 p.m. game against Lowry is especially important now. Fallon is currently tied for fourth in the league with Spring Creek; if the Greenwave loses against Lowry, it will be much more difficult to reach playoffs.
“This next basketball game is a little more important than the one we just played,” Barton said.
He said he felt the game against Lowry would be another good one. He said the team has been practicing a game plan for the game and should be good to get a win. The players have also been practicing rebounds; Barton said they have been struggling with them all season.