Derek Barry drives the baseline against Galena on Friday night at Morse Burley Gymnasium.
Playing a 32-minute game is something that has eluded Carson High’s basketball team many times this year, including Friday night.
The Senators, who trailed by six at halftime, were on the receiving end of a 13-0 run to start the second half, leading to a 57-35 loss to second-place Galena in a Sierra League game at Morse Burley Gym.
The loss dropped Carson to 3-9 with games against Manogue (home), Damonte Ranch (away), Wooster (away) and Douglas (home) left on the schedule. The Senators are two games behind Douglas for the final playoff spot, and barring a meltdown by the Tigers, that isn’t likely to change.
“It’s like we go into the locker room and come out with a whole different identity,” CHS coach Jordan Glover said. “We lose our game plan when we walk out there. It seems like we’re not prepared for the moment.”
Glover was so frustrated that he basically pulled his starters from the floor two different times.
“They didn’t come ready to play,” he said. “We were out-hustled and out-rebounded, and Galena showed more heart.
“They played hard. They made a difference. I hope it’s a wake-up call. I think it gives the first unit some confidence that the subs have their backs.”
Glover did say that he doesn’t expect to make any changes for the Manogue game on Tuesday at Carson at 7 p.m.
Galena led the entire first half, building a 20-9 lead with 5:02 left in the second quarter. Carson, led by three free throws from Trent Robison and a 3-pointer by Hunter Rauh, closed to 26-20.
When the third quarter started, Carson’s offense was nowhere to be found.
The Senators had nine straight empty possessions — 0-for-6 from the floor and three turnovers. Part of the credit goes to Galena’s defense and part to the Senators’ inability to finish at the rim.
“They face-guarded Abel,” Glover said. “They made it hard to get the ball to him to start our offense.”
“Absolutely we played better defense than we did the last time,” Galena coach Duke Howard said. “We learned a lot from the last go-around. We did a better job with our defensive spacing.”
Schuyler Louie, who finished with 10 points, started the surge with a 3-pointer, and Trae Thomson followed suit on the Grizzlies’ next possession to make it 32-20.
After two empty possessions by each team, Moses Wood (13 points) converted a three-point play. After another Carson turnover, Isaac Wood drove to the basket and scored. Thomson capped the 13-0 run with another basket to make it 39-20 with 3:06 left.
The Senators got free throws from Deven Cripe and Derek Barry (9 points) before Wood scored three straight points to end the period.
About three minutes into the final period, Glover went to his reserves for the second time, trailing 49-25. Kahle Good scored on two driving layups and Jordan Torres rifled in a 3-pointer that made it 49-32 with 3:36 left.
Galena restored control with six straight points, pushing its lead to 55-32.