Carson boys drop opener in St. Andrews Invitational

Nevada Appeal Staff Report

After jet-setting to Boca Raton, Fla., for a five-day, four-game basketball tournament, the Carson Senators boys team got off to a slow start against host and three-time defending district champion St. Andrews on Thursday.

The Senators were unable to fully rebound from a 19-4 first-quarter deficit and went on to lose, 58-42, in the St. Andrews Invitational.

"We came out and couldn't hit a shot. We were a little flat," said Carson coach Bruce Barnes. "We can't blame it on anything. The boys are a little jet-lagged. The time difference is getting to a couple of them. Their legs were a little heavy today."

Sophomore guard Brian Barnes led the Senators' attack with eight points, and senior forward Paul Cagle III added seven points. Junior forwards Uriel Duran and Pat Smith contributed six and five points for Carson, respectively.

"We got some good shots, but the shots weren't falling," Coach Barnes said. "We played pretty well in the second and third quarters."

In fact, Carson made a concerted second-quarter run and managed to cut St. Andrews' lead to four, but the Senators began to run out of gas.

St. Andrews, now 8-1, led 28-16 at the half.

"They began spreading the ball on us. There is no shot clock here," said Barnes, whose Senators fell to 5-2 on the season and remain 1-0 in the Sierra League. "They had a six-point lead and spread us out. They had dribble penetration and took some time off the clock. They had two very good guards.

"They got to the free throw line. It went back and forth from there. They forced us to foul and pulled away in the fourth quarter."

St. Andrews led 42-32 after three quarters.

Barnes said there was nothing but positive to extract from such a tournament as this one.

"Whenever we go to a tournament, hopefully we play teams that emulate team in our conference," he said. St. Andrews was similar to Douglas. The team we're playing Friday (St. Mary's, from Ontario, Canada) is similar to Manogue " they penetrate and kick (out the basketball).

"We also deal with adversity, fatigue " hopefully traveling to tournaments help you grow in the long run."

The Senators will meet St. Mary's at 4:30 p.m. They will play a team to be determined on Saturday, before taking Sunday off. They will conclude the tournament with a game on Monday before returning to Carson.

Carson will host the Capital Classic Jan. 1-3 at Morse Burley Gymnasium. The Senators will return to league play Jan. 6, when they host Wooster at 7 p.m.