In a game that would be full of energy and effort, the Carl Junction Bulldogs entered Wynn Gymnasium on Tuesday evening with a mission to overcome a series of losses against the Nevada Tigers. Nevada came out victorious in both meetings last year, the first time at the McDonald County tournament in the final seconds with Drew Beachler blocking an inbound pass and laying it in, and then at Carl Junction on a night that was almost called due to weather as the majority of the trip down 43 Highway you could barely see where the road was from snow and wind.
The opening tip would take two throws from the ref before getting play going, with the Tigers gaining possession, however, Carl Junction would end up putting the first ball in the basket with a corner 3-pointer. Jack Cheaney would show his long-range shooting ability with a 3-pointer of his own for the first of two ties of the quarter, and the battle lines were drawn. Carl Junction had three different players hitting from behind the arc in this quarter alone, as it felt like every time Nevada tried to get a defensive stop someone new would step up and nail the big shot. Brice Budd would back down his defender until he was able to find the right angle and lay the ball into the basket, but the Bulldogs would answer off of multiple offensive rebounds and get another basket extending their lead out to 8-5. As senior players often do in big games, Budd would step back and hit a 3-pointer from right in front of the Carl Junction bench and even the game back at 8 all. Both teams would come up empty on their next possessions before another Carl Junction 3 would find the bottom of the net and the Tigers continued their uphill battle. Brice Budd would take the ball in as the Tigers seemed to be trading 2’s for 3’s before a Kellen Braden drive would send him to the free throw line and add 2 points to the tally while the clock was stopped and everyone had a chance to catch their breath. While the Tigers struggled to get defensive stops, they were very aggressive on the offensive end with Jack Cheaney crashing the offensive boards to earn a well-deserved bucket, and Gabe Smith nailing a corner 3-pointer right before the buzzer rang to end the 1st quarter for a score of Nevada 17 and Carl Junction 19.
The second quarter would feature 4 lead changes and 1 tie as the two teams continued to provide each fan all of their money’s worth in basketball excitement. Nevada would start the quarter with a quick turnover, however, Brice Budd would go for the steal and get the ball back down the court to find a following Gabe Smith who would nail the 3-pointer from just to the right of the top of the key to give Nevada their first lead at 20-19. As the script continued to fall, another Carl Junction 3 would give them the lead right back as it sometimes felt like a one-step forward, two-step back kind of night for the Tigers. Grit and resilience always show up with this group though, and what looked like it was going to be a Nevada turnover ended up with a high-jumping Brice Budd blocking the Bulldog outlet pass and instead getting the ball to a wide-open Kellen Braden for the easy lay-in to tie things back up. On the Bulldogs' next possession, a rare occurrence happened, they missed a 3-pointer, and Gabe Smith grabbed the rebound leading to a Jack Cheaney 3 and a Nevada lead of 25-22. Carl Junction would settle for a 2 on their next possession, and Mason Majors would come in off the bench to hit a quick 3-pointer to try and get some momentum moving for the Tigers. Carl Junction would drive the ball right into a set Riddick Shook as he took his second called charge of the night and gave the Tigers the ball back with just over 2:30 to go in the half. An empty possession for the Tigers would give the Bulldogs the ball back and after some very physical play underneath as everyone battled for the board, Carl Junction would get a bucket to fall. On the other end, Brice Budd would take it in and get fouled, converting 2 free throws. Carl Junction would answer with a bucket on the other end, and then Budd would bring the ball down the court driving right at a Bulldog who had already had 2 fouls called on him and let him drive by for the Tiger bucket. Carl Junction then went back to their 3 game nailing one from behind the arc and closing in on the Nevada lead of 32-31 with just over a minute remaining in the 2nd. An empty Nevada possession would give the Bulldogs a chance to regain the lead, and as they did all night, they stepped up and worked for the offensive rebound and putback to get the lead of 33-31 at the half.
Carl Junction would come out firing on all cylinders for the 3rd quarter scoring first and taking advantage of empty Nevada possessions by converting baskets what seemed like every time they touched the ball. Jack Cheaney would get the Tigers on the scoreboard by working for 2 of his own offensive rebounds before finally getting the shot to fall cutting the Bulldog lead down to 3 at 37-34. Nevada would work to get shots up against the tall Carl Junction defense but the ball just refused to go through the net and seemed to always result in a Bulldog basket on the other end. A Kellen Braden 3-pointer, assisted by Brice Budd, from the top of the key would help keep the game within reach for the Tigers. As the 3 ball seemed to slow down just a bit for the Bulldogs they would use their size and physicality to win out on the offensive boards giving them several putback baskets as they worked to keep the Tigers at bay. On a great cut to the basket, Riddick Shook got fouled on the shot and hit both of his free throws and the game was within 2 at 41-39. Two answers in a row for the Bulldogs would quickly move the lead up to 6, the largest deficit up to this point in the game, for either team. The Tigers stepped up for an impressive 13 of 14 from the line, with Jack Cheaney hitting 2 of those in this stretch helping the Tigers put some points on the board while the clock was stopped. Uche Mba would catch the ball at the high post, make a nice move to the basket, and be rewarded with the bucket and 1 helping to give his team a much-needed spark of energy. With just under 20 seconds to go in the quarter, Brice Budd would drive and lay in a teardrop, but Carl Junction would move quickly up the court and knock down a 3 as the buzzer went off, and just like that, only 8 minutes left to play and a Bulldog lead of 53-46.
As the night had gone for the Tigers thus far, the 4th quarter would start a bit frustrating with several shots in the direction of the rim, and very physical play underneath the basket, but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. However, the big difference in this quarter is that the Tiger defense finally started seeing some stops as neither team scored a bucket until around the 6-minute mark in the quarter when Carl Junction would get their first one to fall. The play was definitely physical as by the 5-minute mark the Bulldogs were shooting 2 free throws with each Nevada foul, while only one team foul was called on them in the same amount of time. At the 4:32 mark, the Tigers would begin to find some fire as a Brice Budd drive and bucket, followed by a Jack Cheaney 3-pointer and 2 missed Carl Junction free throws would see the Tigers right back in it at 58-51. Jack Cheaney would run the length of the court after his 3-pointer to make a huge block as he worked to bring the energy for his team. After the inbound play, Cheaney would grab the defensive rebound and find Brice Budd for the corner 3-pointer with 2:22 remaining in the game and only a 4-point deficit for the Tigers. The Bulldogs would get a foul called on their next basket, but only converted 1 of 2 free throws and Cheaney again worked for the rebound, and this time would end up with a bucket of his own at the other end with a lay-in off the right corner of the glass and just like that the Bulldog lead was down to 3 with just under 2 minutes to play. Riddick Shook would set up for a charge, but no whistle was blown, and the Carl Junction bucket would fall to take the lead quickly back to 5. Brice Budd would take the basket to the hole and absorb the contact to give the Tigers the old-fashioned 3-point play and get the Bulldog lead down to 2 at 59-61. Carl Junction would find a hole in the back of the Nevada defense after running some time off the clock, but Jack Cheaney would cancel those out with two made free throws the next time down the court. The earlier-called fouls began to really show in this stretch as a Nevada defensive foul would send the Bulldogs to the line where they would hit both and extend the lead to 65-61. A Kellen Braden steal and subsequent foul from the Bulldogs would give the Tigers the ball. They were able to get the shot, but again, as the night seemed to go, it wouldn’t fall and another Nevada foul would send the Bulldogs back to the line where they would hit 1 of 2, and 14 seconds remained on the clock. Kellen Braden would get fouled with just under 10 seconds, and the Bulldogs had finally crossed the threshold for fouls, Braden would knock down 1 of 2 for the final score of 66-62.
The Tigers did get 7 players in the scoring column with Brice Budd leading the way with 21 and Jack Cheaney right behind him with 19. Kellen Braden added 8, Gabe Smith had 6, Uche Mba and Mason Majors each had 3, and Riddick Shook added 2.
After the game Head Coach Shaun Gray had a few things to point out in regards to his team. He stated “offensively we were very pleased with our production from the 3-point and free throw lines. Making 9 3’s and going 13 of 14 from the free throw line are normally numbers that would equate to a win. We didn’t always finish inside, but we did a good job of driving into the lane and drawing fouls. We would love to finish at a little higher rate than we did tonight when we did get it near the basket. Unfortunately, we did not defend and rebound at the level we are capable of. We gave up numerous offensive rebounds that led to second-chance points. We also lacked good communication on the defensive end and lost some match-ups.”
On moving forward he added “We know that we are better than the effort we put forth tonight on the defensive end. We have great team leadership and I’ve got no doubt we will grow from this tough loss. We have two days of practice and a big rivalry game on the road Friday which is a perfect time to show the best versions of ourselves at both ends of the floor.”
The Tigers will head east on 54 Highway Friday evening to take on the El Dorado Springs Bulldogs.
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