Spanish Springs defeats Fallon

The Greenwave boys' basketball team prides itself on the 1-3-1 zone defense.

Spanish Springs exploited Fallon's 1-3-1 zone with its perimeter shooting and took advantage of several key turnovers in its 57-43 win Wednesday night in the first round of the Northern 4A regional tournament at the Elmo Dericco Gym.

"They just hit some shots and they got some open looks. They're very opportunistic," Fallon coach Corey Williams said. "We handled them inside very well but when they have four very capable shooters and they're making shots, it makes it tough. We gave them some second shots, which makes it even tougher. We're not a play-from-behind team."

The Cougars (20-8), the High Desert League's third seed, defeated the Greenwave (19-6), the Sierra League's second seed, for the second time this season and will face Reno in Friday's semifinal.

"Our defense was good. If we get two single-digit quarters against anyone, the chances of winning are good," Spanish Springs coach Kyle Penney said, referring that his team held Fallon to eight points in the first quarter and six in the third. "We were able to get easy baskets. We did a couple different things against the zone. We spread out a little bit and had dribble penetration. In the second half, we were able to get those kicks out for the 3s."

Spanish Springs scored 12 unanswered points after Dexter Daum scored the game's first five points. Seven points were fueled off turnovers and a Taelor Marchbanks 3-pointer with 1 minute, 37 seconds left in the first quarter gave the Cougars a 15-8 lead. Marchbanks, who swished his first 3 after a Fallon turnover, finished with 15 points, including four 3s. Daniel Lide added 14 points for Spanish Springs and Tyler Emrick added 10.

"We had a lot of stupid turnovers," said Garrett Adams, who led Fallon with 21 points, including six 3-pointers. "We didn't play our best game and they made a ton of shots when we were running the zone. We didn't rebound that good."

After watching Fallon's leading scorer give his team a 5-0 lead, Spanish Springs switched defenders and shut down Daum for two quarters. Penney wanted a better matchup after Daum scored 20-plus points in the Greenwave's last two games.

"Talk about being scared," Penney said. "He comes out 2 for 2 and we're down 5-0. It's neat being able to see a senior with college caliber who can come out like that, Adams as well."

Marchbanks held Daum to only four points, which came late in the final frame as the senior forward finished with nine. In several cases, Marchbanks received help as they were able to double-team Daum and prevent him from a good look.

"We did what we wanted to but turned the ball over," Daum said. "It's a shock to me because it's my last game. I wanted to go out better than this. It just hurts. The last home game hurts."

Fallon, though, cut the deficit to one point twice in the second quarter.

Adams hit an NBA-range 3 with 6:19 left and then completed a three-point, foul play after being bumped off a screen. Adams' six straight points cut the margin to 17-16 and after Marchbanks and Jake Johnston traded 3s, the senior guard hit his 3 of the quarter as Fallon trailed 23-22 at halftime.

Spanish Springs raced out to a 9-1 run to open the second half after a baseline layup with 4:33 left. Fallon, which was held to six points in the quarter - three each from Anthony Tisdale and Adams , saw the deficit climb to double digits for the first time on Adam Miller's tip-in. Tisdale finished with five points.

The Greenwave, however, could not get within single digits as the Cougars outscored the hosts, 19-16, in the final quarter. Fatigue played a factor as the starters were on the floor for the majority of the game. Miles Adams came in briefly in the second half and Anthony Fasone entered late in the fourth quarter.

"That's been the case all year," Williams said of fatigue. "In hindsight, I maybe should have given them more breaks. We just don't have the depth to come back."