Elko’s Jaxon Morrell (14) dribbles past Fallon’s Calin Anderson in the second half of their Friday boys basketball game at Fallon.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
Chelle Dalager loves overtime games.
Her Greenwave basketball team, the Cardiac Kids from two decades ago, still holds the state record for the most overtime games in a season. Both of her boys state championship teams won the crown in overtime over Elko.
“It helps kids in game-time situations and if you experience it early in league, when it comes to a playoff game or game that should be tight, they already have that experience,” said Dalager, who added that it’s difficult to “emulate” these situations in practice. “I love them. When we go to overtime, I tell my kids, ‘this is exciting.’ We get four more minutes of basketball. Some of them look at me crazy. I just love them. It teaches them so much. The experience we’ve had in the two may help us at the end of the game.”
And Fallon needed an extra period on Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak, defeating Spring Creek, 70-67, at the Elmo Dericco Gymnasium.
After having a chance to win the game in regulation, Fallon relied on its defense in the extra period to knock off one of the hottest teams in the 3A East. With the Wave up by one, Calin Anderson, filling in for a fouled-out Brady Alves at point guard, stole the ball and threw it to Baylor Sandberg underneath the basket. The senior forward tossed the ball to senior Carter Paul, who sunk in a jumper to ice the game.
Alves, a senior, led the team with 21 points and four 3-pointers, junior Braden Sorensen had 17 and junior Trevor Hyde added 10 as the team shot 51 percent from the floor. Anderson, a freshman, finished with eight points. Alves pulled down a team-high six rebounds and Hyde had five.
Dalager said Saturday’s win gave her options to help run the offense after Alves fouled out, which allowed Sorensen and Anderson to run the floor.
“We made some changes as far as who’s running our point,” she said. “We’re going to make Braden do more of that and get the ball out of Brady’s hands (so he can get more open looks).”
ELKO PULLS AWAY
The night before saw Fallon (8-9, 1-1 3A East) keep up with Elko until the second half when Fallon’s shots stopped falling. Elko came out on top, 56-40.
“The difference is we got more open shots against Spring Creek,” Dalager said about the weekend. “We were able to deliver the ball easier to our shooters. One of the things Elko is struggling with this year is their guards aren't as dynamic as they have been in the past. After playing them Friday, we didn't move the ball very well. We got beat up inside a little bit.”
No one scored in double figures against the Indians as the team shot 28 percent, including 5-of-19 from long range.
Sorensen led the team with nine points followed by Sandberg with eight, and Anderson and Alves each with six. Anderson led the team with six rebounds, Alves had four, and Sandberg, Hyde and senior Luke Glinka each had three.
WIth the split in the 3A East weekend games and the holiday tournament, Dalager said she is pleased with where the team is going into the league portion of the schedule.
“I’m glad we were able to come back and get a win against Spring Creek. We have enough confidence to beat Elko when we travel to Elko,” she said. “I’m super-excited about how hard they are working. Kids who don't get a lot of playing time come to practice and work hard.”
TOP COMPETITION
Although the California tournament at the end of last month didn’t yield any wins, Dalager wants her team to play against the best competition.
“I always like playing better teams because I felt like last year it didn’t really help us,” she said. “It’s not about the win-loss record. It’s about getting better so we can compete in our conference.”
And that experience can only help as Fallon continues 3A East play, resuming with Lowry on Friday before traveling to state-qualifier Fernley next week.
“We have the strongest side of the division,” she said. “Obviously, teams are going to get better over the season. I hope we continue to get better, also. Our conference is tough.”
Off the court, Dalager is pleased with her team’s academic success and she hopes that translates into another state academic team title. This year’s group currently boasts a 3.86 GPA and includes five players in the JumpStart program.
“That was one of the goals we set was to have a GPA at 3.75,” she said. “The kids are working hard in class to boost their grades. It doesn't show anything about playing ability, but it shows their character and what kind of people they are. It’s just an impressive team.”