Hayden Strasdin blocks Lowry's Brendan Domire during Fallon's home game against the Buckaroos.
After a hard battle, the Greenwave basketball team claimed victory over the Lowry Buckaroos, 66-55.
The teams played hard the whole game, never slowing for an instant. The first quarter closed 8-6 as both defenses held strong.
Fallon’s Elijah Jackson and Thomas Steele led the Greenwave to a two-point advantage while Lowry’s Dominick Solis and Oscar Juanes nailed three-pointers for the Buckaroos.
Fallon pushed ahead in the second quarter.
Scottie Smith opened the quarter with a basket to tie the game for Lowry; while Brendan Domire, Dorsey Naveran and Darian Solis added their own baskets, they could not overcome Fallon’s scoring sprees. Trey Rooks and Christian Nemeth added to Fallon’s score along with Jackson, Hayden Strasdin and John Cooley for a halftime lead.
The second half was the most intense, nearly doubling the first half score in the third quarter alone. The teams scored an identical number of baskets, closing the quarter with a Juanes basket at the buzzer, 45-36.
In the final quarter Lowry tried to come back, closing to a six-point difference. The Greenwave, however, opened back to an 11-point advantage with a final basket from Cooley.
Fallon coach Chelle Dalager said it was an awesome game. She said the Wave had trouble with rebounds in the first half, but made halftime adjustments and it paid off to their advantage.
“We put four guards down on the perimeter and dribble penetrated a bit more and we got better ball movement,” Dalager said. “That opened up the game a little more.”
She said the Fallon players shared the ball well and made good decisions, playing a good press break.
Lowry coach Chad Peters said Lowry had trouble making its shots and couldn’t handle Fallon’s pressure.
“We got ourselves into a little hole and couldn’t get out of it,” he said. “I thought we did a great job as far as competing, we just couldn’t finish … Just too little too late.”
Naveran was one of Lowry’s top players. Peters said he was carrying the Buckaroos while another player is out on injury.
Jackson led the Greenwave with 15 points while Hayden Strasdin was close behind with 12 points. Thomas Steele was a defensive leader with eight rebounds and three assists. Rooks and Cooley each added six rebounds.
Fallon had another close game Friday in Dayton, losing 53-49. Dalager said Fallon had trouble shooting and tried to force things it shouldn’t have.
The teams stayed close the entire game. The first quarter ended with one point separating them, 14-13 to Fallon. The Dustdevils pulled ahead in the second quarter, though, pushing through for 23-21 at halftime.
Dayton continued to open its lead in the third quarter, ending 38-29. Fallon came back in the final quarter, outscoring Dayton and pushing to tie the score; it wasn’t enough, however, and Dayton held the lead when the final buzzer sounded.
Jackson was a leader on the scoreboard for this game, contributing 12 points; Steele and Strasdin were close behind with 11 points each. Rooks and Strasdin were both defensive leaders with seven and five rebounds respectively.
Dalager said Dayton is a frustrating place to play; she said their play style doesn’t fit the Greenwave’s style of basketball.
“We let all the emotional stuff that was happening on the floor effect how we were playing,” she said. “We just didn’t play well.”
Dalager noted it comes down to being in the right headspace, and if players don’t have their heads in the game it can lead to a hard loss.
Fallon hosts the Sparks Railroaders and South Tahoe Vikings this week to close the first half of the season. The Greenwave faces Sparks Friday at 7:30 p.m. and South Tahoe Saturday at 2:30 p.m.