After physical games on Friday and Monday one might of thought the Nevada Tigers could begin to show some signs of slowing down, but they showed up Tuesday night at Wynn Gymnasium focused on taking care of business.
While Monett would win the tip and get the first bucket, the Tigers would answer with Riddick Shook, Brice Budd, and Gabe Smith all hitting shots from beyond the arc, showing the balance of this year’s squad. The seniors would lead by example on the defensive end as well with a Budd block and a Shook defensive charge helping to create opportunities for the Tigers to get to the basket. Monett would continue to battle back showcasing their length on the boards and breaking the Nevada pressure to get the game back within 1 at 9-8. Riddick Shook would take the ball to the basket and get the foul, but come up short on the free throw before Monett would answer on their next two possessions and retake the lead on a long-range 3, the scoreboard now reading 13-11 in favor of the Cubs. Brice Budd would get fouled on a drive to the bucket and hit 2 of his perfect 10 of 10 from the line for the night to even the score back out to 13 all. The Tigers would turn the Cubs over on the next possession and with 1:15 to go in the quarter Budd would find an open lane and take the ball to the basket. Monett continued to find success from way behind the 3-point line and would drill one to take the lead back at 16-15 before Uche Mba would get fouled after an offensive rebound and attempted put back and would step up to hit both free throws to give the Tigers back the lead and end the quarter at 17-16.
The Cubs would switch up their defense to a zone to start the second quarter allowing Nevada to extend their possessions, find the best shot, and give their bodies a little bit of time to recoup between possessions. Brice Budd would find Jack Cheaney for the corner 3 to open up the scoring for the quarter, but as Monett had done in the 1st, they would answer with one of their own. On Nevada’s next possession, Cheaney would get the angle off the inbound pass and extend the Tiger lead back to 3. A Nevada defensive stop and Budd defensive rebound on the other end would give Cheaney another opportunity to drive the ball as the Tigers tried to separate from the Cubs with just over 5 minutes to play in the half. Monett continued their dominance on the perimeter nailing a 3, and then executing a defensive stop of their own before Kellen Braden would grab a defensive rebound and run out and make a great pass to Mason Majors for the left-handed lay-in increasing the Tiger lead back to 4. Each team would next trade long possessions with neither one finding the bucket until Jack Cheaney grabbed a defensive rebound and launched a pass down the court to a wide-open Riddick Shook for the easy lay-up. With time running out in the half Monett would quickly get the ball down the court and drive in for the last bucket of the half, but the Tigers would hold onto the lead at 32-24.
A hot offensive quarter by both teams would make for some great basketball to watch in the 3rd quarter as the Tigers would put up 22 and the Cubs 17 in this one alone. Brice Budd would start the scoring with 2 more free throws, Monett would answer with, you guessed it, another 3-pointer, but Nevada would go right back down in front of the Tiger Cage where Riddick Shook would find Kellen Braden for the corner 3 to put the Tigers back up by 10. 2 Monett free throws would be canceled out by a Brice Budd drive and left-handed lay-in before the Cubs would nail another long-range 3 and force Nevada into some turnovers giving themselves a chance to get right back in it, being down by 4 with 4:20 remaining in the quarter. The Tigers would collect themselves, Budd would hit 2 more free throws, Nevada would get the jump ball and Budd would continue his scoring run by knocking down a 3, and just like that the Tigers were back up by 9. Another Nevada defensive stop and Alex Ast rebound would give Nevada the chance to set up their offense and Kellen Braden would find Riddick Shook under the bucket for the lay-in and regain their double-digit lead with 2:22 to play in the 3rd and force Monett into a time out. The Cubs would come out and drive to the bucket drawing the Tiger foul, hit both free throws, and then set up some full-court pressure. Nevada easily broke the pressure with a strong pass from Uche Mba to Jack Cheaney for the lay-up, foul, and free throw. A Monett 3 would keep the onslaught of scoring going and Mba would show again that he could get the ball down the court in a hurry and Alex Ast ended up behind the Cubs defender in the press for the easy lay-up with 1:27 left in the quarter. Both teams would finish the 3rd with some wild possessions before Nevada would set up in the final seconds of the quarter and Jack Cheaney would find a cutting Alex Ast who would lay the ball in at the buzzer ending the 3rd with the Tigers up 54-41.
Monett would start the 4th quarter with the ball, but Nevada’s defense would come up with the stop and they would begin to slow the pace of the game down and get a long possession before Brice Budd would get fouled on the drive and keep his perfect free throw streak for the night. A Budd defensive rebound on the other end would lead to a Gabe Smith dribble and drive and extend the Tiger lead to 17 at 58-41. A jump ball on the next possession would give the Tigers the ball where Derek Hoffman would assist Gabe Smith for the short jumper with 5:00 to go in the game. Uche Mba showed off his athleticism with a great steal off a Monett inbound play that would lead to a Nevada runout down the court and a Brice Budd lay-up. Gabe Smith would grab the defensive rebound on the next play and give the Tigers the opportunity to slow things down again before a Brice Budd drive would lead to two more free throws with 3:23 to play and the Tigers up 64-45. Once the Tigers started really extending out their offense and working the ball around the Cubs began to foul, reaching their 5th team foul of the quarter and sending Mason Majors to the line where he would hit both and give the Tigers their first 20-point lead with 1:45 to go. Monett would get a steal and lay-up after most of the Nevada starters were on the bench and the final lights on the scoreboard would read Nevada 66, Monett 47. More importantly, the Tigers would move to 3-1 in Big 8 West play as they had two solid performances on back-to-back nights in Wynn Gymnasium.
The Tigers would be led by senior Brice Budd with 22 points, Jack Cheaney would add 12, Riddick Shook 9, Gabe Smith 7, Kellen Braden 6, Alex Ast and Mason Majors with 4 apiece, and Uche Mba rounded it out with 2.
Head Coach Shaun Gray after the game stated “Our guys did a great job tonight of guarding in half court. We were able to sacrifice our body and draw charges. We also boxed out for a big part of the night at a high level. Our transition offense and defense were pretty solid and our ability to break their press for buckets was a key to us extending the lead in the 4th quarter. Our team has done a much better job as of late of scoring around the basket and getting to the charity stripe.” He also added, “Brice Budd did a great job of playing off of two feet and getting to the foul line and Jack Cheaney was tough and physical, guarding Monett’s athletic slasher Landyn Brant most of the night.”
The Tigers will get a couple of days off before they get right back into Big 8 West play on Friday, February 2nd, as the Wildcats from Cassville will visit Wynn Gym for a very busy night including Courtwarming and Senior Night for the Lady Tigers. If you plan on heading to the gym on Friday be sure and note that due to the activities, the schedules will be a bit different as the Varsity boys are set to tip-off around 6:00 pm and the Varsity Lady Tigers will be the evening’s finale with a start time of approximately 7:30.
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