Carson's Abel Carter glides to the hoop Thursday at CHS.
It wasn’t the type of game that Carson basketball coach Jordan Glover wanted to see from his team in its last tune-up before Sierra League gets started next week.
The Senators shot an ice-cold 31 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 17 points, in a 55-28 loss to Reno on Thursday at Morse Burley Gym.
It was Glover’s first game against his old school. He was on Matt Ochs’ staff at Reno the last few years.
“I wasn’t dreading it, I was looking forward to it,” Glover said. “It was just another game.”
Not for Reno coach Matt Ochs, a former Nevada standout.
“I’m glad that this one is over,” Ochs said. “Roger (Crawford) played for me in 2006. Jordan coached with me.”
This was a game that the Huskies dominated for the final 20 minutes, 36-18. And, the Huskies did it with their usual stifling zone defense led by Tommy Challis’ three blocked shots.
“They came out in a 1-2-2, which was weird,” Glover said. “They really didn’t do anything different. We were missing shots from 2 feet in. If you don’t make those you’re not going to have a very good game.
“When we didn’t run something, we’re lost in transition. We didn’t get into the offense quick enough. We didn’t do a good job of going from point A to point B.”
Glover said that the offense wasn’t being run to its fullest extent. The Senators’ coach said that rather than run the offense through, his team was locked in on the first option.
The only CHS player able to accomplish anything was Trent Robison, who had nine of the Senators’ first 14 points. Robison had four straight to cut Reno’s lead to 19-14 with 5:05 left in the half.
“Trent is so aggressive, and so is Abel (Carter),” Ochs said. “We had to compact the zone a little more.”
The game went south on Carson from that point. The Huskies closed with a 12-2 run for a 31-16 lead.
Challis, the Huskies’ 6-foot-8 center, scored as many points as the Carson team in the first 16 minutes. He had six points in the Huskies’ late first-half run. Quite simply, Carson didn’t have anybody who could defend him.
“He is deceptively quick and strong,” Ochs said.
“He finishes really well,” Glover said. “Defensively, he makes you adjust shots. We tried different things. We tried to attack to get him in foul trouble.”
Challis did pick up his third foul with 6:28 left in the third quarter, and he went to the bench. Carson failed to take advantage, going 0-for-1, missing two free throws and turning the ball over three straight times down the floor. When Challis returned with 1:42 left in the period, the Huskies still had a sizable lead, 38-23.
The Huskies finished the quarter with a 7-1 run thanks to five points by Luke Stovak (13 points) and a layup from Challis.
Robison (13 points) scored the first basket of the fourth quarter with 7:42 left in the game. Reno scored the next nine points before Carson scored its last points with 2:43 left in the game.
Derek Barry added seven points and Dawson Lamb scored six off the bench.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Huskies drub Senators
Perennial powerhouse Reno built a 35-point lead late in the first half and cruised to a 67-26 4A crossover win at Carson.
The game was played in running time the last 34 seconds of the first half and the entire second half.
Carson trailed just 13-8 after five minutes, but was outscored 54-18 in the final 27 minutes.
The second quarter was a big one for the Huskies, who went on a 22-2 run in the second quarter to open a 43-11 lead. Mikayla Shults had 10 of her 22 points in that span.
Reno’s press bothered Carson all night. The Huskies scored 27 first-half points off CHS miscues.
The Senators, who played without Bella Kordonowy (concussion symptoms), got 10 points from Lily Bouza, who was the only CHS player able to finish at the rim. Haley Garver finished with five points.
JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
Reno outlasts CHS
The Huskies edged Carson, 28-19, Thursday afternoon at Morse Burley Gym,
Emma McCoy led Carson with nine points and Kelley Barr added six points.