RENO – It was over early.
It was over before the Reed boys trailed 41-15 late in the second quarter. It was over before the Raiders fell in a 19-2 hole to start. In fact, it was likely over before the starting lineups were announced.
Playing without their two leading scorers, the third-seeded Raiders (8-17) didn’t have much of a chance against the second-seeded Miners (18-9) on the road in Tuesday night’s 4A North quarterfinal.
Lincoln Turner watched the game in a boot after tearing a ligament in his foot three days ago in practice. Jeremy Ramos didn’t suit up either. The result? A season-ending 73-51 loss.
“They’re a good team. (Reed coach) Joe (Genung) has done a great job,” Bishop Manogue coach Moe Golshani said. “Obviously, they were short-handed. They’re a lot better with those kids.”
Despite playing without 33 points per game of production from Turner and Ramos, the Raiders did not fold. They actually put up a better fight than when the two teams played the first time in December with Ramos and Turner in uniform. The Miners won that game 83-48.
After the Miners sprinted to a 41-15 lead late in the second on Tuesday night, the Raiders closed the half on a 10-1 run to take a more respectable 42-25 deficit to the half.
“We were first to the floor a lot,” Genung said. “Tonight, they gave it all for each other … We played as hard as we have all year. I’m really proud of them as individuals.”
The Raiders gave up the first five points of the second half and the difference bounced around between 20 and 25 until the final three minutes, when the Miners’ temporarily led by 26.
Alex Mason led Reed with 13 points. Matt Williams added 10. Franz Castillo finished with nine.
Turnovers were a problem for the guests, especially early. They finished with 23 for the game, eight in the first quarter that kick started Manogue’s starting 19-2 run.
“I think the biggest thing was, man, the turnovers,” Genung said. “I thought it was in the 30s. That’s a lot.”
Genung who applied for the Reed job in the offseason as a tribute to his late father, said there was plenty he learned in his first season running the Raiders program – including rational for his optimism.
“The future is bright for our program,” he said. “One year under my belt, I’m familiar with players and kind of have a lay of the land. We’ll see who steps up in the offseason.
“We want to be one of the most competitive teams in the league on a night-to-night basis. That’s the ambition.”
Bishop Manogue advanced to the regional semifinals on Thursday night at Carson where it will play Spanish Springs at 7:15 p.m.
The Miners are the only team in the 4A North to beat the Cougs this year. They won a non-league meeting, 83-67, on Dec. 2 then dropped the regional meeting, 68-61, on Jan. 6. That game was also at Bishop Manogue.
“Well as Kyle Penney said earlier in the year, they’re the hunted, so the pressure is on them,” Golshani said. “We’re just going to come out loose, pass the ball around a little bit, put a few shots up, hopefully we can get a couple stops, and pull off a miracle.
“Our kids believe we can beat them.”
Cougars cruise past Tigers, into semis
Spanish Springs advanced to the regional semifinals on Tuesday night with a 73-45 home quarterfinal win over Douglas.
The Cougars improved to 22-4 with their 15th straight win. The fourth-seeded Tigers ended the year with a 9-17 record, but were not a traditional No. 4 seed.
They had entered on a four-game winning streak, including wins at Galena and at home over Carson.
“I wouldn’t say we were concerned, it was more of a respect for the program they are and what they do,” Spanish Springs coach Kyle Penney said. “They’re a well-coached team, execute really well and play well together. The concern is more about us shoring up some of our deficiencies.”
Douglas provided a scare early, leading 10-9 after the first eight minutes, before Spanish Springs outscored the Tigers 24-9 in the second quarter and held 33-19 edge at the half.
“We got a little more aggressive in the second, started to play,” Penney said. “The first quarter, I don’t know if it was because it was a playoff game or whatever you want to call it, we weren’t real active. We had the chance to sit down and talk at the break and get the kids to be a little bit more active and be a little more aggressive and things started to turn our way.”
Jalen Townsell led the Cougs with 21 points in the win. Marcus Loadholt went for 17. And Josh Prizina recorded a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds – five on the offensive end.
Spanish Springs sunk Douglas with a 23-9 scoring advantage in the fourth.
“I’m glad for our seniors who got an opportunity to play at home one last time in a setting like that,” Penney said. “Those are memories that hopefully they can think about later on in life.”
The Cougars head down to Carson on Thursday night for a 4A North semifinal against Bishop Manogue. Tip is at 7:15 p.m.
“They (Miners) are good. They have some very good skillset players,” Penney said. “They’re very confident players that play very fast. We certainly have to control the tempo.”
4A North quarterfinals
Bishop Manogue 73, Reed 51
Spanish Springs 73, Douglas 45
Reno 56, Carson 49
Galena 74, McQueen 51
4A North semifinals (Thursday night at Carson)
Galena-Reno 5:30 p.m.
Spanish Springs-Bishop Manogue 7:15 p.m.
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