The Nevada Tigers came out a little bit flat to begin the game and found themselves trying to pull themselves back up, but ultimately fell to the Butler Bears in a very physical and fast-paced game.
Butler would win the tip, but Nevada would grab a defensive rebound and push the ball down the court with a great look from Gabe Smith to find an open Riddick Shook for a quick lay-up. While they would start with a few missed opportunities, Nevada found a way to build up a 5-point lead at 7-2 only to find the Bears come roaring back and tie it up at 7 all. The Tigers would retake the lead at 9-7 on a Jack Cheaney jumper, but Butler would go right back down the court and drive the ball to the bucket to tie it back up at 9 all. With more back-and-forth action Butler would finish the 1st quarter with a lead of 15-10.
Trying to start the 2nd quarter with a spark, Brice Budd would grab a defensive rebound and take the ball the full length of the court for a quick lay-in to get the scoring started. However, Butler continued to work and win many of the battles on the board on both sides of the ball, as well as prove to be very efficient at the free-throw line making it very hard for the Tigers to get very much momentum. Nevada’s defense would take a stand with just over a minute to go by making the Bears turn the ball over and give their offense an opportunity to go on a 4-0 run to close out the half with a score of 20-24.
Nevada would start the 3rd quarter with the ball and get a quick bucket on an inbound pass from Brice Budd to Jack Cheaney. The Bears would turn things around quickly though going on a huge run and taking a double-digit 11-point lead with 4:08 left in the quarter. The Tigers would never give up though, and Brice Budd was able to win a few offensive rebounds and give himself the opportunity to put it back up and get to the free-throw line getting Nevada back within 4 before the eventual 34-40 score at the end of 24 minutes.
The 4th quarter would prove to be a great 8 minutes of basketball whether you were cheering for the Tigers or the Bears. Nevada would go on a 7-0 run to take the lead at 43-42 with 5:11 to go, but Butler would go right back down the court and score on a tear-drop shot in the lane. Alex Ast came in off the bench and gave the Tigers some great minutes working for rebounds as well as helping to try and guard the Bears’ best player and give some of the other players a bit of rest. The Tigers and Bears would continue to trade baskets and Kellen Braden would give Nevada a 48-46 lead off of a corner 3 with just over 2 minutes to go. At this point in the game Butler was in the bonus and on the next possession would go to the line and tie the game back up at 48. The Bears would go back down and score in a bucket as well as get another free throw for a 48-51 score and the Tigers had just under a minute to try and even things up. When one says it just isn’t your night, this might be how the Tigers view this one as they were able to get 4 3-pointers up from 3 different players and would even get another offensive rebound by Brice Budd with just over 2 seconds remaining in the game before he was called out-of-bounds at the baseline giving the ball back to Butler. The Tigers would set up in full-court pressure when a quick whistle was called on Jack Cheaney sending the Bears' best shooter to the free throw line for 2, of which he would hit them both for the final score of 48-53. Nevada would get the ball in bounds and Brice Budd was able to get a shot off with some contact from the Bears player, but there would be no call and the buzzer would sound that the hard-battled game was over.
Nevada will have another shot at the Bears when they visit Wynn Gymnasium the first week of January and Coach Gray believes that his team “will be eager to have a better showing.” The Tigers were led by Jack Cheaney with 22 points with Brice Budd adding 11 as the only other Tiger to reach double figures.
After the game Head Coach Shaun Gray had a few things to say about his group. “Very uncommon of our groups, we did not come out with the same energy and intensity as our opponent. Butler was more aggressive on the glass and they also seemed to get the best of the 50/50 balls early in the game. They showed a lot of grit to come back from an 11-point deficit to take the lead in the 4th, unfortunately, we settled too often for quick 3’s or tough 2’s and ended the night with only 10 made 2-point buckets. We will continue to work on shot selection and defensive attention to detail. Our guys love each other and love to compete together, which is why we will continue to grow and learn from tough games and situations.”
The Tigers will get their next opportunity to show how they will respond on Saturday as they finish up the Butler tournament in the 7th place game against University Academy out of the KC area, but will also have the last game before the holiday break on their minds as next Tuesday they travel to Harrisonville for a head-to-head match with another district opponent.
