RENO—There’s a reason many thought McQueen could be a DI North title contender this winter.
And the Lancers further validated that belief on Tuesday night as they rolled to a 70-48 home win over Reed.
Led by 6-10 center Octavian Corley, McQueen’s interior defense was too much for the undersized Raiders.
“Their size killed us,” Reed coach Zach Sanford said. “They’re a good defensive team and at times, it felt like they suffocated us. We felt their pressure and kind of succumbed to it at times. Size killed us. They’re a different team (than last time we played them).”
Reed, which dropped to 5-10, 2-5 in the DI North with the loss in the High Desert League opener, also fell to McQueen, 76-50, last month in the Rail City Classic. The Lancers improved to 11-7, 5-2.
Offensively, Corley finished with 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting from the floor but he did the majority of his damage defensively, altering nearly every shot in the paint.
“That’s tough to beat when you don’t have size,” Sanford said.
Jeremy Ramos and Lincoln Turner both finished with 13 points to lead the Raiders.
Reed hung around early, trailing just 32-22 at the break.
The Lancers led by as much as 17, 30-13, late in the second quarter but the Raiders responded with a quick 9-0 run to get back in it.
“We cut it to eight and we strung it together,” Sanford said. “That’s one of the things we just talked about with the guys, we have to string those moments together for four quarters. We can’t have lapses anymore.”
McQueen’s Tavian Cheathon-Dayton put back a miss at the buzzer to push the Lancers up 10 at the break.
The Lancers slowly pulled away in the second half, leading 53-31 going to the fourth.
Reed returns to HDL play on Friday night at home against Hug.
“We’re at home. Hug is always scrappy. They always come in looking for a fight,” Sanford said. “And we’re going to be ready.”
Spanish Springs takes care of Hug
The Spanish Springs boys had little trouble with Hug at home on Tuesday night, rolling to a 73-56 victory in both team’s High Desert League opener.
The Cougars, who started 2-2 in DI North play, improved to 9-6, 5-2 with their third-straight win. The Hawks fell to 1-12, 0-7.
Despite the slow start to the season, Hug hung around early. The Hawks were within reach at the half, trailing just 40-29. But Spanish Springs outscored its host 18-10 to take a comeback proof 58-39 lead to the fourth.
Marcus Loadholt led the Cougs with 20 points. Josh Prizina had 17 and Bryce DeLong chipped in 12 as 11 different Cougars got on the stat sheet.
Hug’s Zonathan Williams led all scorers with nine.
Spanish Springs now gears up for a pivotal early season HDL test on Friday at first-place Reno. Tip is at 7 p.m.
Sparks on wrong end in second straight
Three Railroaders finished in double figures on Tuesday night but it wasn’t enough as Sparks fell 67-59 on the road at Fallon.
Matt Longland and Ricky Guadron both had 13 and Jesus Nava had 10 as the Railroaders dropped to 4-9, 3-3 in the DI-A North with their second-straight loss. The Greenwave improved to 6-10, 3-4.
Sparks was done in by a slow start, hitting just three field goals in the first quarter that resulted in a 15-6 hole going to the second. The Railroaders put a dent in the gap, getting within 31-27 at the break, but couldn’t complete the climb in the second half.
Tomas Diaz led Fallon with 13.
Sparks will try to put an end to its two-game skid on Friday night at home against South Tahoe.
Winners of three straight, the Vikings are 6-3, 3-1 in the DI-A North.
Tip is at 7:30 p.m.
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