Preying on birds

The vaunted Hug basketball team of the past is no more.

The once feared program was drilled by Fallon, 67-40, in a nonleague game to improve to 4-8 overall. The Greenwave played at Fernley on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time.

“We knew Hug was going to be quick and athletic so we wanted to stop them from transition,” Fallon coach Brad Barton said. “We did a good job of that.”

Against Hug (1-9), however, the Wave came out on fire, while the Hawks were flightless. Ettore Neiderauer ignited the charge with five of the Wave’s first six points and added to his highlight reel with a three-quarters length 3-pointer to beat the buzzer and cap a 19-1 first quarter.

Hug’s only point came on a free throw by Roosevelt Calhoun with 1:41 left in the period. Fallon, meanwhile, used its press to force several turnovers, while Hug’s shooting was erratic.

Many times Hug, a Division I school in the High Desert League, was unable to get a shot off as Fallon stole the ball and countered with a fast break.

Connor Richardson, who tied for a game-high 17 points, started off the second quarter with a jump shot. Evett drained consecutive 3-pointers, and David Ford calmly put back a 2-foot shot without jumping for a 29-3 lead.

A big positive for Barton and the Wave, however, was the emergence of other scoring threats. Richardson led the way, while Evett added 12 and Neiderauer tallied 11.

“We got three games this week and a big one against Lowry,” Barton said. “We got to win all three of these otherwise our goals will be hard to meet.”

Neiderauer, a foreign exchange student from Brazil, has been timid at times as he is adjusting to a new style of play. On Monday, however, Neiderauer came out of his shell and showed his skill.

It was the first time all season Fallon had more than one scorer in double figures.

“Now we are starting to get our guys firing on all cylinders,” Barton said. “Connor’s game is getting back on track … Ettore is becoming more comfortable with how we play.”

Hug, though, did manage to heat up, although the Hawks were unable to consistently score from the inside.

Instead, Hug used the 3 to play even with Fallon in the second and third quarters.

The Hawks tallied seven 3s in the game including three from Zonathan Williams, who also had 17 points.

Still, Fallon’s skill and confidence was too much for Hug to overcome. Leading 34-16 after halftime, the Wave continued to use its height advantage and speed to break down the Hug defense.

Richardson scored 11 points in the period as Fallon pushed its lead to 54-33.

With such a big lead, Fallon was able to unload its bench in the fourth quarter — along with other parts of the game — to gain more court time for the younger players.

“We shot the ball pretty good, but we actually didn’t play very well,” Barton said. “We learned some things we need to work on.”

With four games this week, Barton said it was valuable experience for the bench players to get so much playing time. In addition to Hug and Fernley, Fallon visits Dayton on Friday and hosts Lowry on Saturday.

“The good thing was we got to play everybody and get our bench some playing time so everyone can be fresh,” Barton added.